


Final Posters - sanders sides speech au

by cocawoela



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: High School AU, Idiots in Love, Logan is a good friend, M/M, Platonic Analogical - Freeform, Prinxiety - Freeform, Roman is a sweetheart, Speech and Debate, all fluff with like a very small dash of angst, less of a sophisticated love story and more of a feel-good chickflick, logicality - Freeform, patton is a Gay Mess, speech au, there’s too much bad stuff happening in the world right now so this is all feel-good stuff, virgil is a Gay Mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23864563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cocawoela/pseuds/cocawoela
Summary: It’s speech season!  Virgil Pierce and Logan Foster are starting their third year in speech, and can’t wait to get into the groove of it all again.Last speech season, Virgil developed a huge crush on Roman Cappel, the charming, quite handsome young man from his rival school.When Virgil finds his and Roman’s name on the same final poster, he sees his life flash before his eyes.  Having to perform in front of your crush?  Dear god, no.After trying his absolute best to impress Roman and getting closer to him because of it, he decides maybe being in the same event as your crush isn’t so bad.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 34
Kudos: 78





	1. Chapter 1

“The poster for Poetry is up!” 

Virgil’s heart raced. It was the first varsity tournament of the season, and he was guaranteed to start the season strong. He pushed through the sea of people rushing to the newly posted final poster, and eagerly looked through the list of people it until he finally saw it: 

“Q2: Virgil Pierce” 

He tried his best to contain his excitement and his pride, but all of it left him when he read further and saw: 

“R1: Roman Cappel” 

His stomach started doing backflips. 

(Roman Cappel!??!? I have to perform my piece in front of ROMAN FUCKING CAPPEL?!?!?)

Virgil’s mind was going a mile a minute. Roman was the insanely attractive boy from his rival high school. He would have to perform in front of him if he wasn’t double entered. 

)What if I mess up? What if he doesn’t like my piece?)  
(...Why am I worrying about this? It’s not like he-) 

Virgil felt someone grab his hand and start pulling him from the crowd. He let out the biggest sigh of relief when he saw who it was. 

“Oh thank god. Thank you, Logan.” 

Logan turned to look at Virgil and softly smiled. “Of course. I knew to get you the hell out of there the second I saw your and Roman’s names on the same poster.” 

Logan led Virgil around the foreign high school, trying to find somewhere that wasn’t filled with people. He finally found an empty, quiet hallway and stopped walking. He turned to Virgil and embraced him. He didn’t let go for probably a whole minute. 

“You’re gonna be okay.” Logan started tracing circles on Virgil’s back. 

Virgil felt more and more sick to his stomach by the second. “Oh god… are you sure?” 

Logan pulled away and looked his best friend in the eyes. “Virgil, everything’s gonna be okay. The judges will call your code, and you’re going to go up there and give it your all. You’re gonna wow the judges...” He paused and smirked. “And you’re gonna blow Roman away.” 

Virgil chuckled and looked down. “You really think so?” he said with irony in his voice. 

Logan smiled and put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “I know so, my guy.” 

Virgil couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t know what to say, so he mustered a laugh to fill the silence. 

“Well, I’m gonna go find my room for finals, and you should too!” 

“Okay mom.” 

Logan shook his head. It took a second for him to recover before he remembered what he said he was going to do. “You’re gonna do great.” He placed a platonic kiss on Virgil’s forehead and went off to find his room. 

Virgil went into the nearest bathroom and splashed some water into his face. 

“It’s okay… you’re okay… everything’s going to be okay,” he whispered to himself. “You’re gonna be okay. There’s nothing to worry about! Why are you worrying?” 

“You alright there?” 

Virgil was so focused on pep talking himself he hadn’t noticed Roman fucking Cappel was standing three feet away from him. 

(...you have got to be kidding me.) 

Virgil turned to Roman, absolutely flustered. “Yeah… I’m just freaking out about finals. First tournament jitters, y’know?” He hoped with every inch of his being Roman wouldn’t look down and notice how every inch of him was trembling. 

Roman nodded. “I get that. What event are you in?” 

Virgil tried his best to pretend he was talking to anyone but Roman Cappel so he could actually get words out. 

“Oh, I’m in poetry.” 

A smile spread across Roman’s face. “No way, me too!” 

(Oh my god his smile holy fuck) 

Virgil wanted to talk to Roman more, since he probably never would again, so he quickly asked if he would want to walk to finals with him. 

“Of course!” Roman looked around the bathroom for Virgil’s poetry book, but found nothing. He smirked and added, “And maybe to the cafeteria too so you can get your book.” 

“Oh my god thank you for reminding me.” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck and laughed. “I would’ve walked right in without it.” 

Roman chuckled. “What’s your name by the way?” 

“Virgil.” 

Roman slightly raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Virgil. That’s a really cool name.” 

Virgil shyly looked down and thanked him. He then went to ask for Roman’s name, as if he hadn’t ingrained his full name into his head. 

“Roman. Roman Cappel.” He stuck his hand out for Virgil to shake. 

(Huh. He’s very formal. We love that.) 

The two walked out of the bathroom and headed to the cafeteria to retrieve Virgil’s book. 

The cafeteria was pretty much empty, since everyone had headed to finals. Virgil took this opportunity to take a picture of the poetry poster. 

Roman noticed Virgil was standing by the poster for a little too long. He started to get a little concerned. “Everything alright over there?” 

Virgil turned and jogged over to his team’s table to get his book and turned on his heel to start running out of the cafeteria. “Finals are at 2:30 and it is 2:28!!” 

Roman’s eyes bulged. He took off after Virgil, and they both ran down the halls, trying to find the right room. 

They ran past many, many kids and parents trying to find rooms who gave them judgy looks, but they didn’t care. 

“Why is this school so big???” Virgil whisper-shouted. “Where is 314!?” 

There were many wrong turns and many u-turns, and lots of bumping into each other followed by laughing. 

After a while, they stopped running. They were both tired and figured it was well past 2:30 and they weren’t making it in time. 

“As long as we get there within the hour, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Roman said through pants, hands on his knees.

“Famous last words,” Virgil playfully retorted. 

Roman chuckled at Virgil’s remark and looked up from the floor and gave him a fond smile, which caused Virgil’s breathing to hitch. 

(Is this boy trying to mess with me I swear) 

The two walked around the school for a good five minutes before finally finding their room. They saw someone was performing and awkwardly sat outside and waited until they were done. 

Virgil couldn’t stifle his laugh. What he was laughing at, he didn’t know. 

Virgil’s half-laugh caused Roman to start laughing, as well. 

The two kept laughing for no reason until the end of the competitor’s piece. 

Once the competitor was done, the two walked in and sat next to each other. 

Practically the second the two sat down, the judge called Roman’s code. 

Roman picked up his book, walked to the front of the classroom, and started his piece. 

Virgil was completely infatuated by Roman, and how he presented himself when performing: the way he stood, the way he turned the pages, the way he would look up from his book and make eye contact with the audience. Virgil couldn’t handle it. 

Virgil was called right after Roman, and Roman was just as infatuated with Virgil as Virgil was with him. He noticed how his voice went a lot higher when he was performing, how he gripped his book as if the world would end if he dropped the book, how, as the piece went on, he would get less tense and his grip on the book loosened a bit. He caught himself smiling a little too wide at him, and tried his best to cover it up like it was something else. 

Virgil nodded to indicate he was finished and sad back down next to Roman. He immediately put his head in his hands. 

(Oh my GOD that was awful who decided I was fit to break into finals I don’t get it)

Roman turned and sympathetically smiled. He seemed to know exactly what Virgil was thinking. He leaned towards him and half-whispered: “you were really good!” 

Virgil looked up from his hands and smiled at Roman. “Thanks. You were really good, too.” 

They sat through two or three more performers before the round was over. 

The two walked out of the room together and walked back down to the cafeteria. 

The second the two entered the room, a blur of blue and white rushed towards Roman and clung to him. 

Roman laughed fondly and embraced the shorter boy holding him. “Hi, Patton.” 

(FUCK he has a boyfriend are you kidding) 

“Congrats on breaking!! I’m sorry I couldn’t go see it, but I’m sure you did great!!” Patton finally let go of Roman and looked at him with the widest grin on his face. It took him a couple seconds to notice Virgil standing right next to him, and when he did, he gasped and smiled even wider. “Who is this, Roman?” He raised his eyebrows at Roman. 

(So… they’re not dating??? Because he just… insinuated us dating?? I’m so confused)

Roman chortled and ruffled Patton’s hair. “This is Virgil.” 

Patton energetically waved at Virgil. “Hi Virgil! That’s a really cool name. I love names that you don’t hear every day.” 

Virgil couldn’t help but smile. This kid was the most precious thing he’d ever seen. “Thank you. I heard Roman call you Patton? That’s a really cool name, too.” 

Patton glanced down bashfully and thanked him. He looked up and smirked. “Well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” He turned to leave, chuckling. 

“Patton, oh my god.” Roman rolled his eyes and his face slightly flushed. He turned back to Virgil, shaking his head and smiling. “Patton’s a real handful sometimes. He’s been my best friend since, like, sixth grade.” 

“Aw,” Virgil remarked. “I have a Patton; his name’s Logan. We met freshman year when auditioning for our school’s fall play.” 

“I’m sure awards are starting soon, so I have to help clean up my school’s table. But it was so nice meeting you and talking to you.” Roman’s fond look lingered before his eyebrows shot up, as if remembering something huge. “Oh!” He pulled out his phone. “What’s your snap?” 

Virgil pulled out his phone, his hands still trembling, and chuckled. “I made my username in, like, seventh grade so don’t make fun of me.” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

(Holy FUCK why is he so charming jesus) 

It took a couple seconds for Virgil to recover before he could get another word out. “Oh! My snap, right.” He laughed awkwardly, and silently wanted to die. “It’s… twentyonediscos.” He snorted at how stupid it was. 

“Gee, I wonder what your two favorite bands were in middle school,” Roman remarked as he typed the name into his phone. Once he was done typing, he looked up and smiled. “I loved them too. I had a huge crush on Brendon Urie back in the day.” 

Virgil gasped a little and grinned. “No way! 

Before either of them could say anything else, Logan approached Virgil and tapped his shoulder. “The coaches are ordering us to clean up and pack up for awards.” He looked past Virgil and saw he was talking to Roman, and used every inch of himself to stifle his excitement for him. “You know how Sanders gets.” 

“Right, right. I’ll be right over, Logan.” 

Logan nodded and went back over to their school’s table. 

Roman raised an eyebrow and smiled. “So that’s Logan?” 

“Yeah, he’s my bro.” 

“Virgil Pierce!” Mr. Sanders shouted from across the cafeteria. 

Virgil’s eyes widened and he started to turn to leave. “I would like to live to see tomorrow, so I’ll talk to you later, Roman!” He waved and jogged to his table. 

Roman fondly smiled at Virgil for a little too long until he remembered he’s supposed to be helping clean his school’s table, and quickly walked over to where he was supposed to be. 

“So, when’s the wedding?” 

“Patton, I swear to god.” 

-

“Will the finalists in Poetry Reading please come on stage.” 

Virgil’s heart was pounding. He’d been on stage for awards many, many times but this time felt different. Was it because of Roman? Probably. Who knows. 

The announcer went through the finalists from sixth to third and neither Virgil nor Roman’s name had been called yet. 

The other finalists had left the stage and it was just the two of them left. 

The two looked at each other, smiled, and embraced. 

“I really hope you win.” 

“I really hope *you* win.” 

Everyone waited eagerly.

The anticipation was killing them. 

“In second place,” the announcer began, and said the high school Virgil was from. “Virgil Pierce!” 

Virgil beamed and turned to Roman. “Congrats!!” he exclaimed before walking to get his medal. 

“Which means your tournament champion in Poetry Reading is Roman Cappel!!!” 

The crowd erupted. 

The second Roman got off stage, Patton ran up to him and gave him a bone-crushing hug. 

When Virgil sat back down next to Logan, Logan put his arm around him and pulled him towards himself. “I’m so proud of you. Second is way better than fifth and fourth, like last season.” 

“Hey.” Virgil snorted. 

“I’m just saying.” Logan laughed and ruffled his best friend’s hair. 

-

The bus ride home, Logan pretty much interrogated Virgil about the past few hours. 

“So… you’re friends with Roman now?” He smirked. 

Virgil turned beet red. “Oh my god…. Where to start!?!? He’s so… AGH!” Poor Virgil was a flustered mess. He could hardly get out full sentences. “He’s so charming?? Oh my GOD his smile- I can’t- oh my god-” he buried his head into his hands. 

Logan was loving every second of this. “Man, I thought you were a mess before.” 

“Shut up!!” 

“You did a good job keeping your composure while talking to him, though. I’ll applaud you for that.” 

“Thank you, thank you,” Virgil mocked a performer receiving applause. 

There was a beat of silence. Neither of them knew what else to say. 

Virgil leaned his head on Logan’s shoulder. Logan instinctively put his arm around him. 

The two sat in comfortable, content silence for a while, until Virgil’s phone went off. He looked at the notification and saw: 

“From Roman 👑”

“OH GOD-” 

Logan felt bad for laughing, but he couldn’t help it. “It’s okay! He just wants to talk! Why else would he text you?” 

“I’m just- oh god-” Virgil rubbed his temples and anxiously started laughing.

“Deep breaths, Virgil.” 

“I’m really trying.” 

Virgil let out a deep breath and opened the message. 

“hey handsome” 

(WH-)  
(WOAH)  
(OH MY GOD) 

Virgil showed Logan the message without saying a word. 

Logan’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s bold.” 

“What do I say back!?” 

“I don’t know, maybe ‘hi’ or ‘hey’. That’s usually how conversations start.” 

“Shut up oh my god-” 

Virgil finally settled on “hi uwu” and regretted it the second he hit send. 

ROMAN  
h-hewwo?

VIRGIL  
ohmygod 

ROMAN  
don’t you love long bus rides home 

VIRGIL  
they’re sick  
i’m usually super tired after tourneys so i usually always fall asleep on logan 

ROMAN  
aw  
patton does that too 

VIRGIL  
logan’s shoulder >>>>> any pillow in existence 

ROMAN  
maybe my shoulder can be second best to his one day ;) 

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)

VIRGIL  
perhaps uwu

(Can I stop fucking using uwu what is wrong with me) 

ROMAN  
owo

(What have I done) 

(...Also what do I say now) 

VIRGIL  
i’d love to keep texting but tbh i can feel my eyelids getting heavier by the second i think i’m gonna sleep for the remainder of the bus ride 

(Nice.) n

ROMAN  
you do that my guy  
sleep tight uwu 

Virgil shook his head and smiled. 

(Dear god.)

Although he lied about being tired because he had nothing else to say, he decided to try and sleep anyway. He snuggled closer into Logan and closed his eyes. 

Logan softly smiled at his best friend and placed a kiss in his hair. 

The two were fast asleep for the rest of the ride, and Mr. Sanders had to forcefully shake them awake afterwards.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton's introduced to Logan and Roman makes a bold move during awards.

“Everyone go look for your rooms! Stop sitting around!” Mr. Sanders playfully scolded his team. “Take a deep breath and know you’re gonna do great today!” 

Logan and Virgil meandered around the school, half looking for their rooms, and half hoping to stumble upon Roman again. 

“Maybe Roman’s in one of your rounds today! I know it’s only the second tournament, but usually, after a while, you start getting a lot of the same people in your rounds.” 

Virgil felt a rush of butterflies. “That would be so great. I just wanna talk to him again.” 

Logan gave Virgil a reassuring smile. “He seemed very interested in you. I don’t think that was the last time you’ll ever talk to each other.” He looked just past Virgil and his eyebrows shot up. “Speak of the devil.” 

Virgil’s eyes widened. He tried to keep his composure as he turned around, and, sure enough, there he was. 

Roman walked down the hallway searching for his room, saw Virgil, and his whole face lit up. He cheerfully waved at him and started walking toward him. 

(holy fUCK oh my god)

“Looking for your rooms?” Roman asked as he approached Virgil. 

“Yup.” Virgil awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. 

“Mind if I join you guys? Patton’s practicing his HI, leaving me all alone.” 

“Not at all!” Virgil smiled. 

“Oh, I don’t think I’ve formally met you yet,” Roman said to Logan. “Logan, right?” 

“That’s me.” Logan tried not to smile at the fact Virgil mentioned him to Roman. 

“Roman.” He stuck his hand out for Logan to shake. 

Logan softly smiled at Roman. He liked him. He felt like a dad approving of his son’s boyfriend. 

“What event are you in?” 

“I’m in info.” There was a beat before Logan had a genius idea. “Which reminds me, I should probably find my room and go practice.” Before he started to walk away, he turned to Virgil. “Good luck if I don’t see you before your first round!” 

Virgil chuckled and shook his head. “I love and hate him.” 

Roman hummed. “He’s in info? I’ll have to go see one of his rounds. He seems very sophisticated.” 

Virgil was slightly taken aback, but didn’t let it show. “He is. Our rounds might be staggered, maybe we could see one today! Er- well, if you want to. No pressure.” 

“Sure! Maybe I can bring Patton along. I’ll see if HI interferes with Info or not.” 

The two meandered around the school for a while, chatting about anything and everything, completely forgetting about looking for their rooms. 

“You have a twin brother? That’s really cool!” 

Roman rubbed the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly. “Yeah. We have a very… weird relationship. Like, we love each other, don’t get me wrong, but we also hate each other.” 

Virgil hummed. “I get that. Like, he’s your brother, but you wouldn’t hesitate to push him off a cliff if you had the chance.” 

Roman snorted. “Yeah, pretty much.” 

The two walked in comfortable silence for about a minute before Virgil checked his phone and his eyebrows shot up. 

“Oh jeez, it’s 8:10. Our rounds start in 10 minutes.” 

Roman glanced down and noticed Virgil had his book, but he didn’t. “Well, I should go get my book. You go and practice!” Before he started walking away, he smiled and wished him luck. 

As Roman walked away, Virgil couldn’t help but clutch his book to his chest and have a completely smitten smile plastered on his face. 

(he’s just so…. cute. oh my god.) 

-

“How’d your first round go?” Logan was sitting at a cafeteria table and smiled when he saw Virgil walk in. 

“I think it went okay. I didn’t flub. I had to have gotten at *least* a three.” 

Logan nodded. “Good. When’s your next round?” 

“Uhhh…” Virgil glanced at his sheet. “10:15. You?”

“9:30.” 

Virgil remembered what Roman said about wanting to see one of Logan’s rounds and lit up at it being a possibility. 

“...what are you smiling about?” 

“Oh- Roman said he wanted to go see one of your rounds.” 

Logan was taken aback. “Seriously?”

“I was surprised, too.” Virgil chuckled. “I guess he wants to be more… involved?? I don’t know. Or he could literally just want to go watch your round.” Virgil scoffed at how he overanalyzed the situation. 

“Perhaps. I mean, you have time to go ask him.” 

Virgil turned and saw Roman sitting next to Patton at their school’s table. He felt a bit of butterflies, but he tried to ignore it. “I’ll go ask him.” 

As Virgil approached their table, both Roman and Patton’s faces lit up when they saw him. 

(Patton is ADORABLE oh my god) 

“Hi! So, I know you said you wanted to go see one of Logan’s rounds, and Logan’s round starts in 10 minutes and ours won’t start for another, like, hour.” He anxiously put his hands in his pockets. “No pressure if you don’t want to, though. I get it.” 

“Oh!” Roman beamed. “Of course!” He turned to Patton. “Pat, Do you wanna come with?” 

Patton cocked his head to the side. “Sure! Which one’s Logan, Virgil?” 

Virgil turned around and pointed to Logan. 

The second Patton’s eyes met Logan, his jaw hit the table. Once he could finally speak again, he looked Virgil in the eyes and said, “Oh, I am going.” 

Virgil and Roman started cracking up and shared a knowing smile. 

-

“F1?” 

Logan walked to the front of the room, nodded to indicate he was starting, and started his piece. 

Roman was fully invested in Logan’s piece. His gestures were clean, but casual enough that they didn’t look rehearsed, and there wasn’t a single word the audience couldn’t understand because he spoke so clearly and really annunciated his words. 

Patton was also invested, but not by Logan’s piece. He was completely smitten, and he hadn’t even had a conversation with this boy yet. 

Virgil glanced over at Patton and tried to hold in his amusement. Patton had his head rested on his hand with a stupid grin on his face. He then reminded himself he couldn’t be laughing, since he did the same thing when he saw Roman for the first time. 

After the round was over, the four walked out of the room together and talked in the hallway. 

“You were really good!” Patton beamed. 

“Oh, thank you!” Logan softly smiled at Patton, which caused Patton’s stomach to do backflips. 

“Yeah, you were really good. I don’t think I’ve ever not been bored in an info round before,” Roman said with a laugh. 

“Why, thank you.” Logan snickered.

“Logan, this is Patton. He’s Roman’s best friend.” Virgil gestured towards Patton, who was a blushing mess. 

Logan, completely oblivious, gave Patton a half smile. “Nice to meet you, Patton.” 

Patton, unable to speak, just nodded and smiled. 

Roman enjoyed the spectacle before he glanced at his phone and saw Poetry rounds started in two minutes. “It’s been great talking to you, Logan, but me and Virgil have to go!” He absentmindedly took Virgil’s hand and started sprinting down the hallways, before Virgil interrupted. 

“ROMAN OUR BOOKS!” 

Roman’s eyes widened and his stomach dropped. He and Virgil shared a horrified look and started booking it to the cafeteria to retrieve their books. 

“Is this just going to be a normal thing for us now?” Virgil asked, half laughing and half panting. 

After a few seconds, the two slowed down. 

“Well, it’s already 10:20. We can’t be late twice.” 

The two walked with purpose to the cafeteria to retrieve their books when Roman’s coach was sitting at his table and saw him. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in a round right now?” 

“I’ll explain later, Mx. Stokes.” 

Roman and Virgil swept their books off their respective tables and started to walk out of the cafeteria. 

“What room are you in?” 

Roman glanced at his sheet. “112.” 

Virgil glanced at his sheet and grinned. “You’re never gonna believe this.” 

“We’re in the same round? Nice.” 

“Well, now we can run together to our next round and be embarrassed together.” 

The two made it to their room and sat down. 

“F2 is here.” 

“G1 is here.” 

The two sat next to each other and tried their hardest not to burst out laughing. 

-

“INFO is up!” 

Virgil, Logan, Roman, and Patton all rushed to the newly posted poster and looked through until they saw it: 

‘ F1: Logan Foster ’ 

Virgil embraced Logan and almost gave him a noogie, but realized he shouldn’t mess up his friend’s hair. “I’m so proud of you!!!” 

“Congrats, Logan!” Roman beamed and gave Logan a thumbs up. 

“Thank you!” Logan smiled ear to ear and squeezed Virgil tight. 

“Finals are in five minutes so I have to go!” Logan started to jog away. 

“Good luck!” Virgil half-yelled so Logan could hear. 

The other three waited anxiously for their respective events’ posters to be posted. With every poster that wasn’t their event, they grew more and more anxious. 

Finally the HI poster went up. 

Patton anxiously searched through the list of people and rejoiced when he saw it: 

‘ G1: Patton Bailey ’ 

He could hardly contain his excitement; he jumped up and down and started squealing. 

Virgil couldn’t handle how precious Patton was. He was amazed at how he still acted like a bubbly, innocent child despite being 16. 

Roman embraced Patton and joined him in his excitement. They stayed there for a second before Roman told him to go and practice beforehand. 

Roman approached Virgil and smiled. “...And then there were two.” 

Virgil rubbed the back of his neck. “...Yup.” 

“What are the odds Poetry is the last one to be put up?” 

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised.” 

The two sat by the posters for what felt like hours until, finally, the poster for poetry was posted. They eagerly rushed to the poster and scanned for their names, and, sure enough: 

‘ F2: Virgil Pierce ’ 

‘ G1: Roman Cappel ’ 

Virgil and Roman high fived, grabbed their books, and headed to their room. 

“You ready to kick ass?” Roman smirked at Virgil. 

“You know it.”   
-

“Will the finalists in Poetry Reading please come on stage.” 

Virgil’s heart fluttered. 

(No way we get first and second again.) 

The announcer got through 6th-3rd, and, sure enough, neither Roman nor Virgil’s name had been called yet. 

The two beamed at each other and tightly embraced. 

In the heat of the moment, Roman kissed Virgil’s cheek, causing Virgil’s soul to leave his body. He pretended to faint and exaggerate it the best he could so it seemed like a joke, but his heart was pounding out of his chest. 

“In second place, Virgil Pierce!” 

Virgil received his award, hands shaking, and quickly got off stage. He was so out of it, he didn’t even hear Roman’s name get called for first. 

When Virgil sat down next to Logan, Logan’s mouth was agape for a good thirty seconds. 

Virgil put his head in his hands and tried his hardest not to start screaming. 

“I cannot believe-” Logan began to speak, but was rendered speechless once more. He kept opening his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. 

The two looked at each other, mouths agape. Neither of them could say a word. 

\- 

Virgil and Logan were finally in the privacy of their team’s bus, where they could freak out without strangers judging them. 

“I can’t believe he did that!! Oh my god,, I’m so-” Virgil made various panicked and confused noises. He covered his face with his hands and hid in Logan’s lap. 

“Hey, I mean, now you know for sure he likes you,” Logan said as he slowly ran his hand through Virgil’s hair. He was freaking out just as much as Virgil was, but he was still trying to calm Virgil down. 

After a few seconds, Virgil’s panic melted away and he sat back up. He slowly leaned his head onto Logan’s shoulder and smiled. 

Logan put his arm around Virgil and rubbed up and down his side. “So, what would your ship name be?” 

“Shut up oh my god-” 

Logan laughed softly to himself. “Love youuu.” 

Virgil was about to respond when his phone vibrated. He took it out of his pocket and saw: 

SNAPCHAT   
From Roman 👑

All Virgil’s composure and self control left and he let out a loud, panicked scream. 

Everyone on the bus went silent and all jerked their heads towards him. 

Logan pinched the bridge of his nose. “He’s fine. A cute boy just texted him, is all.”

Everyone laughed, some replied with “same” and continued what they were doing. 

Virgil was beet red. 

Logan burst out laughing. 

“Don’t laugh at me!” 

“I’m sorry-” Logan cut himself off with more laughter. “It’s just-” he snorted. “I was not expecting that reaction.” 

Logan and Virgil both took some time to calm down before Virgil opened the notification. 

ROMAN   
hey i’m sorry if i made you uncomfortable at awards. i wasn’t thinking and i really shouldn’t have done that. 

Logan, who was reading over Virgil’s shoulder, raised his eyebrows and hummed. 

Virgil’s heart swelled. He nuzzled further into Logan’s shoulder and pulled his knees into his chest. 

VIRGIL   
oh, don’t worry about it. you’re good. i wasn’t uncomfortable at all. 

ROMAN   
okay good   
patton wants to know if logans with you haha

Virgil chortled. 

VIRGIL   
yup he is   
and hes reading all of this lmao 

ROMAN   
oh shit lmao 

VIRGIL  
dont worry he doesnt care 

“Does Patton want to be friends with me? Because he seems like a nice guy. I don’t see why he thinks I’d be offended.” 

“Y… yup. Don’t know why, either.” Virgil tried his best to hold in his laughter.

(we love obliviousness) 

ROMAN   
are you home yet?

VIRGIL   
no we still have like 20 min 

ROMAN   
oh we love that 

“This is painful to watch.” 

“Logan I don’t know how to talk to cute boys, okay.” 

Logan let out a soft laugh and rubbed Virgil’s side. 

VIRGIL  
sorry i suck at carrying a conversation lmao i never know what to say 

ROMAN   
omg don’t apologize i’m way worse 

VIRGIL   
so…..   
truth or dare owo 

ROMAN   
ohmygod 

Virgil took a deep breath and sent his next text. 

VIRGIL   
is it okay if we talk about what happened today 

Virgil felt Logan hold him tighter. He was still reading everything. 

ROMAN   
of course

VIRGIL   
was there any reason you did that?   
like,, was it spur of the moment? was it something else?  
...was it a bet?

ROMAN   
well it was not a bet.   
i guess i wanted to congratulate you? i’m honestly not too sure why i did it either. 

VIRGIL   
forgive me if this is creepy but   
would you want to do it again 

“Oh my god you are pathetic.” Logan laughed as he shook his head.

Virgil held his breath until Roman responded. 

ROMAN   
only if you want me to ;) 

Virgil’s breathing hitched. 

VIRGIL  
i might or might not want you to 👉 👈

ROMAN   
alright then   
next time i see you be ready 

VIRGIL   
omg   
you got it 

Virgil and Logan looked to each other, mouths agape. 

Neither of them have to say anything. 

They stayed like that for a good ten seconds. 

The two tightly squeezed each other out of excitement. 

“This cannot be real!” Virgil tried his absolute best not to scream. 

“I can’t believe it either.” 

Virgil received another notification. 

ROMAN   
is logan still reading 

Logan read the message, and very obviously turned his head away. 

Virgil chuckled. 

VIRGIL   
no why 

ROMAN   
yeah patton is fuckin in love with him lmao 

VIRGIL  
oh really wow  
he was so subtle with how he was looking at him and how he acted around him i would never have been able to tell 

ROMAN   
LMAOOOOOO   
pat’s a Useless Gay 

VIRGIL   
lo’s an Oblivious Gay they’re perfect for each other 

ROMAN   
i ship it 

VIRGIL   
me too   
speaking of logan im so tired im gonna go to sleep 

ROMAN   
aw  
you do that 

VIRGIL   
night night uwu

ROMAN   
sweet dreams owo 

Virgil chuckled to himself and turned his phone off. He looked up at Logan and laughed at how he was still looking in the opposite direction. “You can look now.” 

Logan let out a small laugh and turned his head back, and smiled fondly when he saw Virgil already falling asleep on his shoulder. 

He decided to get some sleep, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im really sorry if this sucked lmao   
> i've been working on this on and off for like a week and a half and then svs 2 came out and got me in the feels for a WHILE   
> roman stans how we feelin


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil and Roman get closer, and so do Logan and Patton.   
> Kinda.

Virgil pulled into Logan’s driveway and got out of his car. He unlocked the front door with their house key on his keychain and walked in. 

“Hi mom,” Virgil greeted Mrs. Foster as he walked into the kitchen.

Mrs. Foster smiled. “Hi, Virgil. Logan’s upstairs if you’re looking for him, which I presume you are.” 

“Yup, I am.” Virgil let out a small laugh before he started to head up the stairs. “Thank you!” 

Virgil opened Logan’s door and plopped onto his bed. 

Logan closed the book he was reading and raised an eyebrow. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” 

“Pfft-” 

“What?”

“Nothing,” Virgil said with a laugh before turning to lay on his back. “I don’t know, I just wanted to chill with you, if that’s okay.” 

“You sure there’s no particular reason?” Logan set down his book and laid down next to Virgil. 

“Part of it could also, maybe, possibly because I’m trying to keep my mind off Roman.” 

Logan didn’t know whether to be serious or make a joke. “Did anything happen? Or are you just anxious?” There was a beat before he followed it up with, “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.” 

Virgil put his hands behind his head. “Nothing happened. I just feel like… a lot can happen in a week. Yeah, we were flirting and then… awards happened, and then… after… awards… happened, but he has 6 days to sit with this before he sees me again. What if he’s just pitying me?” Virgil’s eyes widened and his stomach dropped. “What if he knew…?” His voice got small. “What if word got around that I had a crush on him last season and he’s just doing this to be nice?” He took his hands out from behind his head and covered his face. “Oh my god!” he wailed. “That’s probably what happened.” 

Logan furrowed his eyebrows and sat up. “Virgil, may I take your hand?”

Virgil held out one of his hands without saying anything. 

Logan took his hand and rubbed the back with his thumb. “I’m not Roman; I don’t know what he’s thinking, but from what i do know about him, I don’t think he would do that. He wanted to hang out with you on saturday, he wanted to go to one of *my* rounds! He didn’t have to do that if he didn’t want to. He isn’t in love with you, maybe he will be in the future, but he definitely is showing some sort of interest in you.” 

Virgil let out a long, slow breath and sat up, still holding Logan’s hand. “Thank you, Logan.” He sniffled and half-smiled at his best friend. 

Logan’s expression softened when he heard Virgil sniffle and pulled him into a hug. “If you need to cry, it’s okay.”

Virgil looked up to prevent tears from escaping. “I don’t even know why I’m crying,” he said with a forced laugh. He squeezed his eyes shut and could feel the tears falling from his eyes. “It’s not even that big of a deal,” he choked out, his voice at least an octave higher than usual. 

Logan traced circles on Virgil’s back. “You don’t have to downplay your feelings, V.”

It took a few minutes for Virgil to calm down again. He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. 

“Are you okay?” 

Virgil wiped his nose. “Yeah. i’m good.” 

There was a beat. Logan wanted to change the subject and lighten the mood. “...Do you wanna watch something?” 

Virgil smiled and nodded. 

-

Virgil’s heart almost leapt out of his chest when he got a notification from Roman on the bus to the school hosting the saturday’s tournament. 

ROMAN   
are you still okay w me kissing you today bc i’m a man of my word   
but i’m only a man of my word if you’re ok w it 

Virgil covered his mouth out of shock, but also, partially, to stifle a laugh. 

“If he didn’t actually care, he wouldn’t have sent that.” 

Virgil jolted. “I forgot you were there for, like, two seconds.” 

Logan laughed. “Sorry.” 

VIRGIL   
i’m very ok with it c;

“It was so close to being smooth and then you had to add that.” Logan chortled. 

“Shut up we’ve already established I can’t talk to cute guys--” 

ROMAN   
see you in like half an hour ;) 

Virgil couldn’t help but squeal. 

“You two are perfect for each other.” 

Virgil snickered and playfully shoved Logan. 

-

“How does my hair look?” Virgil asked Logan as they walked down the hallway, looking for their rooms. 

“You look fine, don’t worry.” Logan got a kick out of his friend. 

“Oh my god, my heart is pounding.” 

“Mine would be too.” Logan put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay, Virge.” 

Virgil took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I know. Now the anticipation is killing me.” 

As Logan and Virgil turned the corner, Roman and Patton came out of the room behind them. Patton was the only one who saw them, and tried to get their attention somehow. He grabbed Roman’s arm and started walking in their direction. 

“How do we get them to turn around?” Patton whispered. 

“I don’t know!” 

Patton gulped and walked faster to catch up with them. “Is that the one, the only, Virgil Pierce?” 

Logan and Virgil turned around and were delighted to see Patton with Roman right behind him. 

If Patton had known Logan would smile fondly at him after he turned around, he would’ve made Roman get them to turn around, no matter how much money he had to give him. 

“That’s my name.” Virgil smirked, trying his absolute best to look cool in front of Roman. 

Virgil and Patton shared a look of solidarity; they were both trying their absolute best not to falter in front of their crush. 

“I believe my friend, Roman, owes you something.” 

Virgil ignored his face heating up. “Well, I wouldn’t say he *owes* me. He’s just…” He looked Roman in the eyes and smiled. “Very generous for giving it to me a second time.” 

Logan, as much as he loved Virgil and supported him and Roman, was about to vomit after what Virgil just said. 

Roman smiled and rolled his eyes and approached Virgil. “Well, whether I owe you or not, I’ve been wanting to do this since saturday night.” He embraced Virgil and kissed his cheek. The embrace lingered for a while after, but Virgil didn’t mind. 

“Cuties!” Patton grinned. 

Roman laughed and pulled away. 

“Well, I suppose you two want some time alone so…. I best be going.” Logan didn’t know if they had actually wanted to be alone, but he was semi-uncomfortable, and still needed to find his rooms. 

“Love you, Logan.” 

“Love you, Virgil.” 

Logan turned to walk away, and Patton tried to subtly walk next to him. 

“Is it okay if I walk with you? I don’t wanna third wheel and have no other friends to hang out with.” 

“That makes two of us. Of course you can walk with me.” Logan softly smiled at Patton, causing him to scream internally. 

Virgil and Roman smiled fondly at the two of them. 

“I ship it.” 

“Me too.” 

Roman turned to Virgil. “Do you still need to look for your rooms?” 

“I have one more but… I can just wing it when third round comes around.” 

Roman laughed. “If you say so.” 

“Let’s set an alarm for, like, 15 minutes before our rounds start so we aren’t in a frenzy retrieving our books and scrambling to get to our rooms like we have been the past two tournaments,” Virgil said with a laugh. 

“That is a very good idea.” Roman pulled out his phone and set an alarm for 9:15, 15 minutes before their first round. “We’ve got…” Roman checked the time. 7:45. “...roughly an hour and a half.” 

“What do you wanna do?” 

“We could just… walk around the school and get to know each other better.” His statement was genuine, but he laughed afterwards. “I realize that’s the corniest thing I’ve ever said. I’m sorry.” 

“That’s the smoothest line ever compared to shit I’ve said in the past.” Virgil chuckled. “I could tell you stories.” 

“Oh god, I don’t know if I want to hear these,” Roman said, already cringing. 

Virgil slowly started to walk, and Roman followed. 

“The one that takes the cake is-” Virgil’s own laughter cut him off. “Okay, this happened freshman year.” 

“Not a good start.” 

“I feel I need to give context. So, me and Logan were chilling at a tournament before finals. I’m pretty sure it was before finals. So we’re sitting at a cafeteria table, and these two girls come up to Logan and say, ‘our friend thinks you’re cute. Here’s his snap.’” 

“I’m scared for where this goes.” 

“You should be.” Virgil snickered before continuing. “So, Logan didn’t realize he was gay until sophomore year, so he gave his snap to me. So me and this guy are talking and whatever, and I’m freaking out because no one had ever shown interest in me before. So we’re talking, and the conversation dies down. We haven’t talked for, like, three days.” Virgil squeezed his eyes shut and covered his mouth. 

“Oh no, what did you say?” Roman was dying of anticipation and preliminary second hand embarrassment. 

“So, I didn’t want to say, ‘do you want to be my boyfriend’, because I thought that would be too forward, so-” Virgil’s face turned red with embarrassment and couldn’t help but laugh. “So I text him: ‘do you wanna hold hands and shit at the next tournament?’” 

Roman stood there, his face red with second hand embarrassment, and his mouth agape. “Oh, god!!” He broke out laughing. “I’m so sorry for laughing!” 

Virgil was cracking up, as well. “No, you’re fine!” 

“Wait what did he say after that?” 

It took a second for Virgil to calm down. “All he said was: ‘what?’”

“Oh, no!” Roman was practically dying of laughter. “Oh my god, I am so sorry. That story alone trumps any and all of my embarrassing stories.” 

“Freshman year was truly an… interesting year.” 

“You can say that again.” Roman looked over at Virgil and cracked a smile. “Well, do *you* wanna hold hands and shit?” 

“Stoooppppp.” Virgil wheezed. “But, yes. I do.” 

The two continued walking and Roman reached over and interlaced their fingers. 

Virgil turned to look at Roman and smiled. He leaned in and kissed his cheek. 

Roman turned and couldn’t help but just smile at Virgil. 

“I felt I had to return the favor.” 

Roman hummed fondly. “You’re so cute.” 

Virgil was smiling on the outside, but was screaming loud enough to break the sound barrier in his head. 

-

“I hate how it takes, like, three years for final posters to be up after third rounds are over.” Virgil sighed impatiently as he sat at his school’s table. 

Roman sat down next to him. “Tell me about it.” 

Virgil turned to Mr. Sanders, who was standing by their table, on his phone. “Thomas, why can’t you and the other hoe ass coaches work faster in the tab room?” 

Roman tried his best to stifle his laughter. 

Sanders laughed. “That’s Mr. Sanders to you, young man.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” 

“And only *some* of the coaches are hoes.” 

Virgil turned fully around to face Sanders and rested his face on his fists. “Ooh spill!” 

“Go run your piece.” Sanders chortled as he walked away. 

Virgil turned back to face Roman, who was trying to hide he had been laughing. 

“I... was not expecting that.” 

“Yeah… I get a little too comfortable around Sanders. But if I ever overstep, he’ll tell me.” 

Roman was about to say something when he saw Logan and Patton walk through the doors together. They appeared to be laughing with each other. He raised an eyebrow and smiled. 

Virgil turned to look where Roman was looking and smiled once he saw the two. 

Logan and Patton sat across from Roman and Virgil. 

“So, how do you think your third rounds went?” Virgil asked as the two settled into their seats. 

“Oh, I… bombed.” Patton forced out a laugh. 

“What happened?” Roman furrowed his eyebrows. 

“I did the wrong pop for the wrong character, and then I did the wrong voice, and then I paused to recollect where I was and what was the real pop and the real voice, and then I APOLOGIZED.” Patton buried his face in his hands and groaned. 

All three of them cringed from second hand embarrassment. 

“Well, it was only one round.” Roman gave Patton an encouraging smile. “You have blown it out of the water more times than I can count. Don’t let this deter you.” Roman tilted his head to the side and beamed. “On the bright side, it’s a good story to tell when people share their speech horror stories!” 

Patton looked up at Roman and smiled. “Thank you, Roman. I needed that.” 

“Of course.” Roman softly smiled. “Love you.” 

“Love you, too.” 

Sanders came up to their table and pat Logan’s shoulder. “Posters for Info are up. They’re in the gym.” 

All four of them got up and racewalked to the gym. 

There it was: 

“H1: Logan Foster” 

Virgil grinned and tightly embraced Logan. “That’s my boy!” 

Logan snorted and hugged Virgil back. 

“Now go and kick some ass!” Virgil let go and pat Logan’s back. 

Roman and Patton wished Logan luck as he left the gym. 

Once the coast was clear, Roman raised an eyebrow and smirked at Patton. “So… you and Logan?” 

Patton felt his face heat up. “There’s no sparks… yet… but he’s a really nice guy!” He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face with his hands, trying to cover the bashful grin plastered across it. “He’s so cuuutteee!!” he groaned, his voice slightly muffled. 

Virgil couldn’t help but snort, which resulted in an elbow in the upper arm from Roman. He turned to face him and chuckled. “What? I’m just getting a kick out of this because this is exactly how I reacted when I saw you for the first time.” 

Roman’s heart swelled. “Aww, really?” 

“Logan had to deal with this pretty much every tournament sophomore year.” Virgil felt uneasy after revealing that to Roman, but was relieved when he didn’t appear to be creeped out by it. 

Patton looked up from his hands and giggled. “Me and Virgil are the Gay Mess Gang.” 

Virgil snorted. “Yup, pretty much.” 

Poetry posters went up before HI posters did, but Virgil and Roman stuck around so Patton wasn’t alone waiting for his poster. 

HI went up roughly five minutes after Poetry did, and Patton’s name wasn’t on the poster. 

Roman put his hand on Patton’s shoulder. 

Patton put his hand over Roman’s and turned to him with a half smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not upset. Now I can go to Logan’s final round!” 

Roman laughed and shook his head. “I’m glad you’re not letting it get to you. If you *are* gonna go to Logan’s round, I advise you leave, like, right now, since Info was posted a while ago and is probably starting any second now if it hasn’t already.” 

“Good idea!” Patton held up two thumbs up and ran out of the gym. 

“I don’t think running’s a good idea-- aand he’s gone.” 

Virgil snorted. “We should probably get going, too.” 

“Agreed.” 

The two left the gym, retrieved their books, and made it to their final rounds. 

-

There was always a 5-10 minute grace period before the coaches would get the teams to get on their buses. 

Patton ran up to Virgil and hugged him tightly. “Congrats on getting first!” 

Virgil beamed and hugged Patton back. “Thank you!” He jokingly side-eyed Roman. “I was starting to think I was gonna to lose to Mr. Cappel every tournament.” 

Roman scoffed. 

Patton pulled away and immediately went to embrace Logan. “Congrats to you, too!” 

Logan hummed and hugged Patton back. “Thank you.” 

Patton never wanted to let go, but he knew holding on for any longer would come off as creepy. He savored the moment as much as he could, then quickly let go. 

A kid neither Virgil nor Logan had seen before came up to Roman and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. “Hey, we’re getting on the bus now.” 

Roman nodded. “We’ll be there in, like, two seconds.” 

The kid nodded and exited the school. 

Roman embraced Virgil and kissed his cheek before leaving with Patton. 

Virgil grinned ear to ear and wrapped his arms around himself. 

Logan wanted to make a joke, but he couldn’t help smiling along with Virgil. He was genuinely happy for him, and loved how he was pretty much in a relationship with the boy he would fuss over to him almost every day.   
Virgil couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the bus ride home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Patton and Logan did while Virgil and Roman were off somewhere else.

“Well, I suppose you two want some time alone so…. I best be going.” 

Patton started to panic. He had been a third wheel too many times with Roman’s past boyfriends, and had no other friends to hang out with if they wanted to be alone. He could feel his heart rate increasing as Logan started to leave and Roman and Virgil inched closer to each other. 

Then he realized he now has an excuse to hang out with Logan, and couldn’t be happier. 

He turned on his heel and started to follow after Logan. When he finally caught up with him, he explained his situation and asked if he could walk with him. 

Logan chuckled softly. “That makes two of us.” he looked at Patton and nodded. “Of course you can walk with me.”

“Thank you.” Patton tried and failed to stifle his bashful smile. 

The two walked in silence for a few seconds before Patton tried to initiate a conversation. 

“How long have you and Virgil been friends?” 

“Freshman year.” Logan smiled fondly. “We met at auditions for the fall play at the beginning of the year. We just clicked, and became best friends quickly afterwards.” 

“Aww,” Patton remarked. 

“What about you and Roman?” 

A grin spread across Patton’s face as all the memories flooded back. “Sixth grade. He was the new kid, and I didn’t have any real friends, so we were kinda drawn towards each other because we were both-- ...not ostracized…..” He paused. “Oh, my god… what’s the word?” 

“Loners?” Logan chuckled. 

Patton snorted. “Sure. Honestly, yeah.” He snickered at Logan’s remark one last time before continuing. “Yeah. Then we found out we listened to a lot of the same bands, and bonded over that a *lot*. We became best friends pretty quick, too.” He paused and giggled to himself. “I had a crush on him for the entirety of eighth grade, and when I finally told him, like, last year, he told me he did too, at the exact same time.” He beamed. “How nifty is that?” He realized a few seconds after that he maybe shouldn’t have said that last part, but he was in too deep, and Logan didn’t seem to be put off by his oversharing, which was a relief. 

Logan softly smiled. “That’s cute.” 

“I know. He’s the only past crush of mine I’m not embarrassed talking about. We always joke about it together, and laugh about how weird it would be if we actually dated.” Patton didn’t know whether or not he was giving off the impression he wasn’t over Roman, and immediately told him that wasn’t the case. “Me and Roman are too similar; we definitely would’ve killed each other,” he said with a laugh. 

Logan chortled. “I get that. Virgil and I were in your situation last year. We dated for maybe two days and realized very quickly we were not romantically compatible.” 

Patton nodded. “Are you seeing anyone at the moment?” 

Logan shook his head. “I am not.” 

Patton stifled his excitement. “Me neither.” He chuckled. “Not gonna lie, I’m the slightest bit jealous of Roman and Virgil.” 

Logan pursed his lips and nodded. “Me too.”

“Like, I’m happy for them, I don’t want them to not be together, but *man*. I’m very jealous.” 

“I completely get that. I don’t know who I would even *want* to be with, I just know I want to be with someone.” 

Patton was internally screaming: “ME! ME! BE WITH ME!!!” and so desperately wanted to tell him, but he knew he had to give it time. They both hardly knew each other. 

Logan fixed his tie. “You’re in HI, right? Or OC? I’m sorry I can’t remember.” 

“No, you’re fine!” Patton reassured Logan. “I’m in HI. Why?” 

“Just asking. I didn’t know if you wanted to keep talking about relationships, or rather, lack thereof.” 

Patton rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, it makes me kind of sad.” He cleared his throat. “HI’s fun. Although it is a little stressful, since finals are always PACKED. Although it’s nothing compared to HDA finals.” He started sweating just thinking about it. “Me and Roman were in HDA last year. Not only are there double the competitors, but everyone LOVES HDA, so there’s never an empty seat. It was hell.” 

“And that is why I’m in Info, the event no one wants to go see,” Logan said with a laugh. 

Patton snorted. “Yeah. Unpopular events are nice. None of your friends can judge you if you mess up, because they weren’t there.” 

Logan knew Patton was making a joke, but couldn’t help but feel a little sad from his remark. 

“My director was talking about entering me in Info in the near future, which is pretty cool.” Patton beamed at Logan. 

Logan’s face lit up. “Nice! Maybe we’ll be the next Roman and Virgil.” He winked at Patton. He hadn’t meant for his statement to come out the way it did; he was more referring to being friendly competitors, but executed it wrong. 

Patton used all his strength to not let his jaw drop and stop in his tracks. He couldn’t stop his face turning bright red, but Logan didn’t seem to notice. “Maybe. I guess we’ll see.” 

-

Logan saw Patton as he was walking back from his third round. As he approached him, he noticed he appeared to be in anguish. He furrowed his eyebrows and picked up his pace. 

“Oh, hi, Logan.” Patton rubbed his eyes and smiled when he saw the taller boy approaching him. 

“Everything alright? You don’t look very content.” 

Patton let out a heavy sigh. “I bombed,” he groaned. 

Logan winced. “I hate that.” 

“Yeah…” Patton pursed his lips. “I wasn’t competing against any of the speech celebrities, though, which is nice, I guess.” 

Logan let out a confused laugh. “Speech celebrities?” 

“Y’know, like the big dogs? The ones everyone knows about? Roman’s one. EVERYONE knows who he is, and everyone has a crush on him, too.” Patton chuckled. “You’re probably one. I’m sure all the novices in Info tremble whenever they see you in their round.” 

Logan hummed. “I mean, I don’t deny it.” 

“Yeah, I didn’t have any of those people in my round, which is nice. I didn’t embarrass myself in front of a big dog.” 

“Because that’s what matters.” 

“It does!” Patton forced out a laugh. “Bombing at a comedy show with three nobodies in the audience pales in comparison to bombing at a comedy show with John Mulaney in the audience.” 

Logan flicked his eyebrows and nodded. “You have a point.” 

“I’m sure everyone in Info is absolutely mortified whenever they bomb in front of you.” 

Logan laughed. “Possibly.” 

The two continued to banter and joke with each other until they entered the cafeteria and sat with Roman and Virgil. 

-

“Roman, how many times are you and Virgil gonna kiss each other before you actually get together?” Patton chuckled. 

Roman felt his face heat up. “I mean, we’re… kinda together… we just haven’t made anything official.” 

Patton rolled his eyes. “Me and Logan are gonna get together before you two do.” 

Roman scoffed and playfully shoved Patton. 

The second the two found a seat on their bus, Patton laid his head on Roman’s shoulder and smiled. 

Roman put his arm around Patton. “Look at us. Two idiots with huge crushes on two other idiots.” 

Patton giggled. “Pretty much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is super short it was an idea i had but not long enough to be a full chapter. Chapter 5 will be out really soon, though.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> finally.

The amount of time between getting to the school in the morning and getting on the bus to the tournament was always strange; everyone’s still groggy from waking up at 4/5 in the morning, and it’s either the middle of winter or close to it, so it’s pitch black and freezing. 

Virgil stumbled into the school, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He could hardly keep his eyes open. He plopped onto the floor and leaned up against the wall, and probably would’ve fallen asleep if Logan hadn’t approached him and startled him. He recoiled into himself, and squeezed his eyes shut in defense. 

“It’s just me.” Logan knelt down to Virgil’s level before turning and sitting next to him. 

Virgil instinctively laid his head on Logan’s shoulder. “Tired,” he murmured. 

“I can see that.” Logan chuckled. He offered his half-finished coffee to Virgil, who accepted it and grabbed it with both hands. 

Virgil hummed and smiled. “Thank you.” He took a huge gulp.

“Did you not get any sleep? Or are you just abnormally tired?” 

Virgil sat up and took another sip before responding. “I was up until, like, 3:30 talking to Roman.”

Logan sighed. His mom instincts were about to kick in and tell Virgil off, but he caught himself, and instead just smiled and asked, “What’d you guys talk about?” 

Virgil looked up, trying to recall the night before. “We talked about speech, lots of speech horror stories, lots of musical horror stories… many, *many* horror stories.” He laughed to himself. 

“I see why you were up that long, then. You have a *lot*,” Logan slighted at Virgil, resulting in an elbow in the upper arm. 

Virgil chuckled. “We also... we talked a lot about relationships and such…” His smile dropped and he leaned his head against the wall. “He’s dated so many people!” 

Logan raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. 

Virgil sighed. “I’ve dated no one… except for you, for, like, two days, but that doesn’t count.” 

“Well, I don’t think the number of people you’ve dated affects how compatible you two are.” 

Virgil winced. “I know. I just… it makes me feel a little… unlovable, I guess. He’s found several people who were interested in him, and so many people I know have someone--” 

“Virgil.” 

Virgil stopped talking. He looked over at Logan, who had a stern yet soft facial expression. 

“I know it feels awful. I know how draining it feels when you see everyone around you with someone and you don’t have anyone.” Logan put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “But, just because you couldn’t find a romantic partner in the past doesn’t mean you’re unlovable. I’m here, and I love you. Your mother loves you. My parents love you like another son.” 

Virgil smiled weakly and pulled Logan into a hug. 

Logan hummed and rubbed up and down Virgil’s back. “And, you’ve got someone now, don’t you? Someone who makes an effort to be with you, someone who stays up until 3:30 in the morning sharing speech horror stories with you, someone who couldn’t help but kiss your cheek because he likes you so much.” 

Virgil sniffled. “Man, I didn’t think I’d be in the feels at 5:50 in the morning,” Virgil said with a laugh, but was clearly choked up. 

Logan hummed. “It’s one of those mornings,” he said as he rubbed Virgil’s back. 

The two pulled away from the hug and sat against the wall again. They sat in silence for a minute.

Virgil’s eyes widened. “What if I fall asleep mid-piece?” 

Logan burst into laughter. “You might, considering you slept for an hour.” 

Virgil blankly chugged what was left of Logan’s coffee. “I’m scared.” 

“...me too.” 

-

“Morning, sunshine.” 

Virgil turned around and saw Roman leaning against a wall with a sleepy smile on his face. He grinned and walked towards him. “So, how’ve you been since I last talked to you… 4 hours ago?” 

Roman chuckled and rubbed his eyes. “Very tired.” 

“If we ever decide to stay up talking to each other, let’s not do it on the night where we have to wake up the next day at 5 in the morning.” 

“Yeah…” Roman snickered. “Wish we would’ve thought about that.” 

“Pray for me that I don’t pass out in the middle of my piece.” 

Roman cackled. “I will. Do the same for me.” 

-

Roman entered the cafeteria and saw Virgil sleeping on Logan’s shoulder, while Logan was mindlessly scrolling on his phone. He hesitantly approached and asked Logan if he could sit with him. 

“Of course.” Logan looked up from his phone. “Virgil’s asleep, though. Sorry,” he apologized whilst gesturing to Virgil, who was knocked out. 

“Oh, that’s fine. He needs it.” Roman rested his head on his fist. “We were up late on facetime last night.” 

Logan locked his phone and put it face-down on the table. “Yeah, he told me.” He smirked. “You really like him, don’t you?” He tried not to laugh as Roman’s face turned red. 

“...yeah,” Roman responded, sheepishly. 

“So, when are you gonna make it official? It’s been almost a month. Patton and I are dying of anticipation.” Logan was about to rest his head on his hand, but remembered Virgil was sleeping, and didn’t want to risk waking him up. 

Roman was beet red and exasperated. “I want to! I just… I don’t know how to.” 

“You walk up to him, open your mouth, and say, ‘will you be my boyfriend?’ it’s a 5 letter sentence. 6 syllables. Pretty easy. Hard to mess it up.” 

Roman scoffed. “I did not ask for this sass.” 

“I’m just saying. I don’t know what’s so confusing about asking someone to go out with you.” 

“God, I feel bad for Patton when the time comes.” 

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?” 

Roman felt a rush of butterflies. “Nothing. Nothing.” 

Before either of them could say anything, Virgil started stirring and eventually opened his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and yawned before sitting up and noticing Roman sitting at their table, and immediately tried his best to wipe the sleepy look off his face. 

“How was your beauty rest?” Logan smirked. 

“It was great. Thanks for asking.” Virgil started blankly at Logan as a joke before breaking and laughing. “So what’s happened since I went to sleep?” 

Logan and Roman looked at each other, Logan with a smug grin, and Roman, too anxious to make a mean face at him. 

Virgil raised an eyebrow at the two. “You were talking about me, weren’t you?” 

“All good things,” Logan reassured his best friend. 

Roman nodded and softly smiled, regaining his composure. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Patton coming up from behind him and hugging him from the back. He laughed fondly. “Hi, Patton.” 

Patton let go of Roman and sat next to him. “Guess who didn’t bomb this time!” He grinned and gestured to himself. 

The three grinned and congratulated Patton. 

Logan smiled. “I told you you’d do great.” 

Patton giggled and fidgeted with his hands. “Yeah…” He grinned sheepishly. “You were right!” 

Virgil and Roman looked at each other with the same level of surprise and fondness that Logan and Patton were getting friendlier with each other. 

-

Poetry was one of the first posters to be posted. 

“Do you think you broke?” Roman looked to Virgil as they walked to where the posters were. 

“My rounds were very… average. Probably not.” 

Roman frowned. “You think so? Yeah… I don’t think I blew it out of the water, either.” 

“Probably because we had zero energy from being on facetime all night.” Virgil snorted. 

Roman chuckled. “Possibly.” 

The two approached the poster and scanned for their names, and, lo and behold, neither of their names were on it. 

Roman’s shoulders dropped. “...Don’t know what I was expecting.” 

Virgil sighed. “Yeah… at least we know why, I guess,” he said with a shrug. 

Roman raised an eyebrow and smiled, looking over at Virgil. “...Do you wanna skip finals? Just, chill somewhere?” 

Virgil raised his eyebrows and turned to Roman. “Sure!” 

The two exited the cafeteria, looking for a place to hang out in, whether an empty classroom or an empty hallway. 

“Can…” Roman walked closer to Virgil. “Can I put my arm around you?” 

Virgil felt a rush of butterflies. “By all means.” 

Roman smiled and wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulders. Virgil instinctively put his arm around Roman’s lower back. 

“I really wish I’d broke today.” Roman frowned. “I was gonna try something different with my piece in the final.” 

Virgil tilted his head. “What were you gonna do?” 

Roman softly chuckled to himself. “I was gonna…” He laughed uncomfortably and rubbed his neck. 

The two had reached a reasonable spot--a corner in an empty hallway that had no rooms hosting a final. They sat on the floor, across from each other. 

Roman continued. “I was gonna add a line to my intro, you know how I list a bunch of things that require courage?” 

“...Yeah?” 

“I go on about stuff like public speaking or whatever, but I wanted to add, ‘asking out the boy you like’ and then make eye contact with you, and then deal with the consequences later.” Roman laughed awkwardly and looked at the floor. 

Virgil’s face was red hot and his heart almost lept out of his chest. He couldn’t manage to get any words out, but, luckily, Roman spoke before the silence got too awkward.

“I realize now it was a stupid idea. Maybe not breaking was god saving me from doing that and regretting it.” Roman forced out a laugh. “Although, I just told you anyway, so now I feel even more stupid… heh.” 

“Are…” Virgil was out of breath as if he had just finished running a mile. “Is this your way of…” He put his hand over his chest to steady his heartbeat. “...were you asking me out?” 

Roman smiled uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his neck. “Virgil, I-” His breathing hitched. “Virgil Pierce, will you be my boyfriend?” 

The widest grin spread across Virgil’s face. He slapped his hands over his mouth and tried not to squeal. He squeezed his eyes shut and nodded profusely. 

“Yes?” 

“Yes!” Virgil tried to ignore the tears building up in his eyes. He scooted closer and practically fell onto Roman, embracing him tightly. 

Roman hugged Virgil as tightly as he possibly could. 

When the two finally pulled away, Roman just sat there, smiling fondly at Virgil. He sighed. “Can I kiss you?”

Butterflies erupted in Virgil. He tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. “I… yes! Though, I’ve never kissed anyone before, so…” He wiped his hands on his pants. “I don’t… know.. what to do.” 

Roman smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s easy!” He put his hand on Virgil’s cheek. “First you lean in, and then…” He trailed off as he leaned in to kiss his new boyfriend. 

Virgil never thought in a million years he would be sat, kissing Roman Cappel, but here he was. He wanted it to last forever. He put his hand behind Roman’s neck and pulled him closer. 

Roman pulled away after a few seconds. He let out a happy sigh and leaned in so his forehead was touching Virgil’s. 

Virgil couldn’t stop smiling. He pulled Roman into another tight embrace. “This is the happiest I’ve been in a WHILE.” 

“Me too.” Roman ran his hand through Virgil’s hair. “I wish I’d asked sooner.” He pulled back a bit and planted a kiss on Virgil’s forehead. 

-

“Don’t you think Roman and Virgil should be back by now?” Patton tried to hide the worry in his voice, but failed. He looked to Logan, who seemed slightly worried, as well. 

“Yeah… awards are in, like, two minutes.” Logan took out his phone and texted Virgil, asking where he was. 

VIRGIL   
oh fuck i forgot   
we’ll be there in like 5 lmao 

LOGAN   
no rush 

VIRGIL   
oh wait omg guess fuckin what 

LOGAN   
…?

VIRGIL   
so uhh roman’s my bf now >w<

Logan let out a loud, happy gasp. So did Patton, whose curious self was reading Logan’s texts.

LOGAN   
REALLY

VIRGIL   
I KNOW JKSDVBJDS

Logan’s face went from happy to suspicious in 2 seconds flat. 

LOGAN   
please tell me you and roman weren’t fucking 

“Logan!” Patton gasped. 

Logan snorted. “It’s a reasonable question considering the context.” 

VIRGIL   
bruh sound effect #2  
we were NOT 

Logan burst out laughing. 

LOGAN   
what were you doing for an hour then   
alone may i add

VIRGIL   
staring lovingly into each others eyes uwu

Logan chortled and rolled his eyes.

VIRGIL  
no we were just talking and lost track of time 

Virgil and Roman race walked through the cafeteria doors, red and laughing. They sat next to each other, across from Logan and Patton. 

“Congratulations!” Logan and Patton said, simultaneously. 

“Thank you!” Virgil grinned as Roman put his arm around his shoulders. 

“So who made the first move?” Logan rested his head on his hand and smirked. 

“I did.” Roman put his free hand over his chest and turned his nose up, grinning smugly. 

Virgil stared blankly at Roman, trying not to laugh. “I regret saying yes.” 

Patton snorted and immediately covered his mouth. 

An adult with dark hair around Sanders’ age approached the table and put their hand on their hip. “Ro, Pat, we’re cleaning up for awards.” They jerked their head towards their school’s table, telling the two to go over there. 

“You got it, Joan!” Patton gave the adult a thumbs up and smiled, and immediately got out of his seat to go to his team’s table. 

Roman gave Virgil a quick kiss on his cheek and got up to follow Patton. 

Once Roman and Patton were gone, backs turned, Logan’s face lit up insanely bright. He couldn’t contain his joy for his best friend any longer. “Oh my god!!” 

“I know!” Virgil grinned. 

The two squeezed each other’s hands, grinning and giggling. 

“I wish I could tell sophomore me Roman Cappel would be my boyfriend in not even a year.” 

“Me too.” 

Virgil rested his head on his hand as a stupid grin spread across his face. “I still can’t believe it.” 

Logan smiled fondly. “I’m really happy for you.”

“Thank you, L.” Virgil smiled and squeezed Logan’s hand. 

“Not to ruin the moment, but we should probably start cleaning up for awards.” 

“We should.” 

-

Virgil was about to doze off on Logan’s shoulder on the bus ride back when he got a text from Roman. 

ROMAN  
next order of business: getting logan and patton together. 

Virgil snorted. 

VIRGIL   
roger that


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something's up with Patton.   
> Patton and Logan get closer, and Virgil freaks out.

“Alright…” The judge shuffled the critique sheets and found a blank one. “H2?” He read the code aloud, and no one went to the front of the room. “...H2?” He repeated. 

Roman realized ‘H’ was his school’s letter, and Patton wasn’t going up. He turned to the desk next to him and saw Patton staring off into oblivion. He gently nudged his friend to get him out of his trance. 

“...Patton Bailey?” 

Patton jolted up. “Oh! Sorry, that’s me.” He laughed nervously and took off his glasses before finally walking up to the front of the classroom and starting his piece. 

Roman noticed how Patton lacked the energy and pep he usually had whenever performing, and suspicion started to rise. 

After Patton was finished with his piece, he sat in his seat again, didn’t put his glasses back on, and just stared into oblivion like he was doing before. He stayed like that until the end of the round, and Roman had to shake him out of his trance again. 

“Patton, you okay? Are you tired? What’s up?” Roman asked when they exited the classroom. 

Patton rubbed his eyes, realizing he forgot his glasses, and turned to go back in to fetch them when Roman took them out of his pocket and put them on his face. “Thank you…” Patton rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry. I’m so out of it today.” 

“Did you stay up last night? Did something bad happen?” 

Patton shook his head slowly. “No… I just can’t focus.” 

Roman furrowed his eyebrows, not convinced. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?” 

Patton laughed and nodded. “Roman, I’m fine.” He sighed. “If you must know…” He looked around to check for people he knew. When the coast was clear, he continued. “...I can’t stop daydreaming about Logan.” He chuckled to himself. 

“Pfft-” Roman rolled his eyes. “You are too much.” He still wasn’t completely convinced, but decided not to push. 

\- 

The best part about watching Logan perform was that he took his glasses off to avoid having to push them into place, and not only was Logan ‘adorable’, according to Patton, with his glasses off, but he couldn’t see two feet in front of him without his glasses, which meant Patton didn’t have to hide his bashful grin while watching him. 

Patton had gone to at least five of Logan’s rounds, and still had no clue what his piece was about. 

He realized his obsession with Logan was borderline creepy, but he couldn’t help himself. 

“You did really good!” Patton beamed as the two exited the round. 

Logan softly smiled. “Thank you. I should make an effort to go to more of your rounds.” 

“Only if you want to.” 

“Of course I want to,” Logan reassured. “All the times I have seen you, you’ve been great.” 

Patton blushed and looked at his feet. “Thank you.” 

-

Virgil was walking back from his second round when he made a full-on collision with someone. He took a step back and rubbed his head to see Patton, who was apologizing profusely. 

“Virgil! Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” Sweat started to form on Patton’s face as his worry grew. 

Virgil was still discombobulated from the collision. “No, Patton, you’re fine.” He rubbed his head more. 

Patton put a hand behind his neck. “I wasn’t looking where I was going-- I’m so sorry!” He whimpered. “Can I hug you?” 

Virgil nodded, still processing the situation. 

Patton pulled Virgil into his embrace. “I’m so sorry! I haven’t been myself these past few days.” 

Virgil frowned, finally catching up. “...Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” 

Patton pulled away and tucked a piece of hair behind his ear. “...I don’t know. I can’t pinpoint what’s making me feel weird; the only thing I can think of is Logan, but… I don’t know.” 

Virgil had a bad feeling in his gut. He didn’t know Patton as well as Roman did, but something was telling him something was wrong. He furrowed his eyebrows. “You sure you don’t know?” 

Patton forced out a laugh. “I’m sure.” 

Virgil smiled sadly and ruffled the shorter kid’s hair. “I’ve gotta get to my next round. Take it easy, okay?” 

Patton cheesed. “You got it!” 

-

“How’d your round go?” Roman asked Virgil before bringing his hand up to his face to kiss it. 

Virgil laughed fondly at how much of a sap his boyfriend was, and responded saying his round went fine. 

Roman intertwined their fingers and they continued to walk back to the cafeteria. 

The two walked in silence for a bit until Virgil spoke up. “Is it just me, or is Patton acting a little weird?” 

Roman’s smile started to falter, and he let out a sigh. “I know. What sucks is that when he starts acting weird, he won’t tell me what’s wrong.” He rubbed his eyes with his one free hand. “He’ll tell me a lighthearted reason, hoping I’ll buy it, even though said reason wouldn’t be enough to warrant that much of a change in demeanor.” 

Virgil could physically feel his heart aching. 

“He didn’t always do that.” Roman frowned. “It makes me sad, because that means he taught himself to do that at some point.” 

Virgil couldn’t take the pain and sorrow he felt for Patton, and wasn’t able to stifle his whimper in time. He threw his free hand over his mouth and cried, “Oh my god!” 

Roman gave a sympathetic look to Virgil. “I know. My heart breaks for that kid.” He laughed emptily. “And, Logan seems to make him really happy. Maybe he’s the missing piece.” 

Virgil smiled sadly. “Logan’s got a lot going on, too. Maybe they’re just what each other needs.” 

“Maybe.” Roman rubbed up and down the back of Virgil’s hand with his thumb, provoking a smile from Virgil. 

Virgil turned and almost said, “I love you”, but caught himself. 

(woah woah woah woah WAY too early we’ve been dating for a week????) 

-

“Patton, is everything okay?” Joan approached Patton, phone in hand, worry in their facial expression. “Speechwire is saying you went 6, 5, 6. Your scores have never been that low.” 

Patton’s stomach dropped and his eyes widened. “Oh…” Tears started welling up in his eyes, and he silently cursed himself for being so hurt by his scores. He knew if he were to start talking again, the fact he was about to cry would be clear in his voice, but he did anyway. “I…” He trailed off, and decided whispering was a better bet. “I didn’t even realize I was doing bad.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and squeezed his outer thighs as hard as humanly possible to stop himself from crying. 

Joan’s expression softened, and they instinctively pulled Patton in for a hug. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse scores.” They chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood. “Nothing was worse than getting my critique sheets back the monday after one tournament, and on one of them, a judge had originally given me a one, but then crossed it out and gave me a seven. It was a six person round.” 

Patton let out a laugh, a little too loud. “Ouch, that must’ve sucked!” 

Joan let go from the hug and laughed. “Yeah… my ego was a bit bruised for the rest of the day.” 

Patton wiped his left eye. “I needed that.” He flashed a smile to his favorite coach. “Thank you, Joan!” 

Joan smiled. “Of course.” They looked past Patton’s shoulder, and started to smirk. “And, it looks like your boyfriend’s here.” 

Patton’s face heated up as he turned around and saw Logan, and lightly shoved Joan. “Shut uppp…” 

Joan laughed and crossed their arms. “I’m just teasing.” Their stupid antagonizing-older-sibling grin faded and a genuine smile replaced it. “But, seriously, go talk to him!” 

“Oh god…” Patton’s eyes shifted. “Wish me luck,” he groaned as he turned to leave. 

Logan smiled when he saw Patton approaching his table. “Hey, Patton! How’d your rounds go?” 

Patton’s chest tightened. “...Not well. Yours?” 

Logan winced. “That sucks. I think I did well, I guess we’ll find out sooner or later.” 

“Can I sit here?”

“Of course.” 

Patton pulled out a chair and sat across from Logan. “Thanks.” He rested his head on his hand. “What’s new with you?” 

Logan crossed his right leg over his left. “Nothing much, really. My director’s thinking about entering me in extemp, which is pretty cool. I was an extemper freshman year, and I did pretty well in it.” 

“That’s cool!” Patton leaned in closer. “I could never be in extemp. Too much pressure, and I’d be scared I’d come off as a dickhead in one of my topics.” 

Logan raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips slightly, nodding. “I hadn’t thought of that. I used to be scared people would think I was a ‘snowflake’, as some say, but, then, I realized, I believe in basic human rights, and if they think I’m fragile and dumb for thinking that, they’re the ones with a problem.” 

Patton cracked a smile. “I like you.” He panicked internally and tried to explain himself while keeping his cool. “I like the way you think.” 

“I like you, too.” 

The two just looked at each other, smiling, neither knowing what else to say, for a few moments before Roman and Virgil came in. 

“Heyo!” Virgil sat next to Logan. “How’d your guys’ rounds go?” 

Roman sat next to Patton and put a hand on his shoulder, his thumb stroking the back. 

Patton smiled and rested his head on Roman’s shoulder. 

“I think I did pretty well,” Logan remarked. “We’ll see if I break or not.” 

“I ate shit.” Patton snorted. 

Virgil was slightly taken aback by Patton swearing, but tried not to let it show. “I hate those days.” 

“Yeah…” Patton sighed. “My decline was gonna start sooner or later, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” 

Roman whipped his head towards Patton, and furrowed his eyebrows. “Patton, don’t say that.” 

Patton got up from Roman’s shoulder, his eyes half open. “I’m not trying to be weird or anything; it happens to everyone. Actors hit their prime, musicians hit their prime, etc., and then there’s nowhere to go but down.” 

Everyone was very tense, and didn’t know how to respond. 

Roman frowned. “Patton, you are sixteen. These people you’re talking about are in their 20’s and 30’s when they hit their prime. You aren’t even in college yet. Your prime was *not* last week, when you went 1, 2, 1 at a *high school speech tournament*. You’re gonna get so much better, and achieve so much when you’re older.”

“When I was in middle school, I thought I’d hit my prime in third grade, and it was all downhill from there,” Virgil added. “Life isn’t one big mountain with only one high point and then it’s downhill from there. It’s hills and valleys.” 

Logan nodded. “Lots of musicians, as you said, thought they wouldn’t be truly happy again in their teen years, but are now living their best lives, and are still, even after they hit their peak with their music career.” 

Patton sniffed. “Thank you. Thank you.” He cracked a sad smile. “I’m so sorry, I’ve been so weird lately.” 

“Don’t apologize. We’ve all been there.” Virgil smiled reassuringly. 

Patton forced out an awkward laugh. “Yeah…” 

-

tw// vomit

Logan was fixing his hair in the bathroom mirror before finals when he saw Patton bolt into a stall and fall to his knees. 

[...oh no.] 

It wasn’t the actual sound of vomit falling into the toilet for Logan, but rather the sounds of misery from Patton that followed. After each spurt, he would let out a small whimper. 

“..Patton?” 

“....yeah?” 

“Is there anything I can do?” 

“Could you….” Patton trailed off, and never finished. 

“Yes?” 

“Could you hold my hair back?” Patton sounded almost ashamed. 

“Of course.” Logan walked into the stall that Patton was in too much of a rush to lock, and pulled his semi-long, curly bangs out of his face. 

“Thank you so mu-” Patton was cut off by another spurt. 

“Don’t mention it.” 

When it was finally over, Patton turned and sat on the floor, rubbing his face. “Oh god… I’m sorry I dragged you into this.” Patton just stared at the floor, too ashamed to look at Logan. 

“Don’t apologize. I’d want someone to do the same for me. If I… had hair like yours.” Logan ran a hand through his very short hair, which he’d cut recently to keep it from getting in his eyes. 

Patton tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. “Well, thank you.” 

“Let’s get you off the floor.” Logan reached his hands out, offering for Patton to take them and help him up. 

Their hands seemed to fit perfectly in each other’s. 

Logan pulled Patton off the floor, and reached for his backpack. “I’ve got 2 water bottles in here. Use one to rinse out your mouth.” He unzipped his backpack and pulled out a full, unopened, water bottle and gave it to Patton. “I have some gum in my suit pocket if you need any, too,” he said, gesturing to the pocket inside his jacket. 

“Thank you so much,” Patton sighed as he opened the bottle. 

“Not a problem.” 

Patton swished around the water before spitting into the sink. He then drank down almost the entire bottle. “I really needed that. I’ve realized I never eat or drink anything at tourneys.” 

Logan handed him a stick of gum. “Even if you don’t want it right now, it’s always good to have.” 

Patton took the stick and unwrapped it. “Yeah, I need to get rid of the awful taste.” He laughed as he put the gum into his mouth. 

Logan took out his phone to check the time, and realized INFO finals had started 20 minutes ago. He panicked for a second, but decided he’d be fine as long as he got there within the hour. “Anything else I can do?” 

“Oh, no.” Patton let out an embarrassed laugh, and looked at his feet. “You… you don’t have to…” He took a second to collect himself before speaking again. “I’m fine. You do your thing.” 

“Wanna come with me to my final? Get your mind off things?” 

Patton smiled fondly. “That’d be great.” 

-

“Everything alright, Virgil?” Logan looked over to his friend, who was sitting upright in the bus seat, looking at the ceiling. 

Virgil covered his face with his hands. “Oh god…” he groaned

“...What happened?” 

Virgil took a deep breath and looked at Logan. “I almost told Roman I loved him today.” 

Logan raised an eyebrow. Without missing a beat, he asked, “Well, do you?” 

“I… I guess? Why else would I… I don’t know!” Virgil squeezed his eyes shut. “We’ve only been dating for a week! I mean, I hardly know anything about him besides the fact that he’s in Poetry, his best friend is Patton, and all the embarrassing things he used to do as a kid. That’s not… when you’re in love, you know the person inside out, you’ve been dating for at least four months, and… I don’t know. We’re two sixteen-year-olds who hardly know anything about each other, who have been dating for a total of seven days. How is that love? How can I be in love already?” 

“Well, I don’t think what you’re saying is a hundred percent true for everyone. My parents knew they were in love a month into being together, I loved you before I knew everything about you, and I’ve noticed how lots of couples at our school have dropped the L bomb two weeks into dating. Love doesn’t magically happen right when you’ve hit the four month mark, or when you know absolutely everything about that person. Your mom doesn’t know everything about you, but she loves you with all her heart, doesn’t she?” 

It took Virgil a few seconds to be able to speak again. Logan was the best at giving advice and talking Virgil out of situations like these, and every time, Virgil was always awestruck from what he had to say. 

“Love works in mysterious ways, Virge.” 

Virgil slowly leaned his head onto Logan’s shoulder and let out a long sigh. “Maybe I do love him.” 

Logan wrapped his arm around Virgil. “I mean, you already were for the entirety of sophomore year. Maybe that has something to do with it.” 

“Shut up.” 

Logan threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. “Love you, V.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Virgil chuckled. “Love you too, L.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long! summer school just ended a few weeks ago, and that's been taking up a lot of my time. I'll try to update more now, although my school starts back up in, like, 3 weeks, so there'll be another lull soon, I'm sure.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Virgil go on a date.   
> Logan and Patton talk on the phone.

“Do I finally get to meet the infamous Roman Cappel tonight?” Ms. Pierce smirked. “I’ve heard many tales about this boy, it seems like I’ve known him almost as long as you have!”

Virgil laughed and looked to his feet. “Yup…” he bit his lip and smiled. “You’re gonna love him.” 

“I don’t doubt it.” Ms. Pierce smoothed out Virgil’s dress shirt and straightened his collar. “I haven’t seen you this dressed up in a while,” she cooed. 

“Pssh-” Virgil rolled his eyes. “I wear a suit every saturday.” 

“You know what I mean.” Ms. Pierce smiled as she fixed her son’s hair. “Oh! And make sure to bring a jacket! It’s the middle of December. I don’t care how not cold you say you are.” 

“You see, that’s the trick.” Virgil raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger at his mom. “He’ll see me shivering and give me his jacket.” A devious grin spread across his face. 

Ms. Pierce scoffed and cracked a smile. “You are too much.” She shrugged, still unable to wipe a smile off her face. “At least bring something light.” 

Virgil threw one of his nicer looking jackets over his arm. “You got it.” 

The doorbell rang, and the two of them exploded with excitement. 

Virgil ignored his thumping heart and his shaking hands. “I’ll go get him, then bring him inside.” 

“You got it.” Ms. Pierce gave her son finger guns before he went to get the door. 

Virgil opened the door and his jaw would’ve hit the floor if he hadn’t caught himself. He eyed Roman up and down, in disbelief of how great he looked. “...wow.” 

Roman smirked. “I could say the same about you.” 

“Tch-” Virgil felt his face heat up slightly. 

Roman was about to step through the doorway, when he paused and took a step back. “Is there anything I should know so I don’t embarrass myself, or leave the wrong impression?” 

Virgil stepped outside and left the door slightly ajar, so Ms. Pierce couldn’t hear. “All I can think of is, knowing my mom, she might go into depth of how much I talked to her about you. Just nod and agree.” Virgil’s heart was pounding. He knew his mom would love Roman, but he was still anxious out of his mind. 

“You got it.” 

“Oh!” Virgil gave an uneasy look. “She’s also very… quirky.” He awkwardly laughed. “Think of Patton, but, like, more.” 

Roman laughed fondly. “Got it.” 

Virgil re-opened the door and the two entered the house. 

The two started walking over to where Ms. Pierce was standing, both their adrenaline pumping. 

Ms. Pierce’s face lit up when she saw Roman for the first time. “So you’re Roman Cappel!” She smiled. She had already approved of him when she heard all the nice stories Virgil told her, but seeing the boy in person, and seeing how put together he was with his hair gelled and his outfit that was actually nice, she approved of him even more. She immediately knew this boy would be perfect for her son. 

“That’s me!” Roman beamed. He stuck out his hand. “It’s great to meet you, Ms. Pierce.” 

Ms. Pierce beamed. “It’s great to meet you too, Roman.” She noticed Roman intended to shake her hand, but she pulled him in for a hug anyways. 

Roman was taken aback from the hug, but hugged her back. 

Virgil grew more and more embarrassed, hoping Roman didn’t think his mom was too touchy. He took a small step back, as if stepping back would take him out of the house and somewhere else. 

Once Roman pulled away, he looked in Ms. Pierce’s eyes and gave a reassuring smile. “I’ll have him back by 8:30. And if I don’t…” His eyes shifted away and he pursed his lips. “You have every right to punish me in any way you see fit.” 

Ms. Pierce didn’t have time to stifle her laugh. She was not expecting Roman’s following statement, and took her a few seconds to recover from her laughing fit. She took a deep breath and smiled. “Don’t worry, Roman. I trust you.” 

Virgil’s face started to sweat. He wanted to crawl out of his skin. 

“You two have fun now!” Ms. Pierce grinned and waved goodbye. 

“Love you, mom!” Virgil half-yelled as he started to leave with Roman. 

The second the front door shut behind them, the two looked to each other with the giddiest looks on their faces. 

“So…” Virgil smiled and held his hands behind his back. “Where are you taking me, Ro?” 

“Guess.” 

Virgil poked his tongue in his cheek. “It’s dinner and a movie, isn’t it?” 

Roman’s eyes shifted. “Well, that depends on whether you want to do that or not.” 

“Aw,” Virgil cooed. “I don’t care what we do. We could go dumpster diving and I’d love it ‘cause I’m with you.” He wanted to vomit after hearing how cheesy he sounded, but Roman seemed to like it, so he didn’t apologize. 

“In that case, yes it is.” Roman rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. 

-

Virgil felt a slight pang of sadness as the two walked out of the theater. He’d had a great night, but he didn’t want it to be over yet. “Hey, what time is it?” 

Roman pulled out his phone for the first time that night to check the time. “7:15. Why?” 

“Can…” Virgil looked at the ground, then slightly up, but still not looking at Roman. “Can we do something else before you take me home?” 

The corners of Roman’s mouth twitched up. “What did you have in mind?” 

“I don’t know. Something. I… don’t want the night to end just yet.” 

“Would you be down to stargaze? I have blankets in my car.” 

Virgil’s face lit up at the suggestion. “Yes! Oh my gosh. I love that idea.” 

“Stargazing it is.” Roman smiled as the two got into his car. 

Roman found a nice open space to park his car and the two got out and sat on the hood, one of Roman’s blankets under them. 

“I could just stare at the stars for hours,” Virgil sighed, as he gawked at the night sky. 

Roman was completely smitten by Virgil, and the way his eyes were full of wonder. He’d dated a few guys throughout high school, but none of them made him feel how Virgil would when all he would do was smile, or simply exist. “I could say the same about you.” 

“Hm?” Virgil turned his head back to Roman.

“I-” Roman flushed and looked up at the sky. “I could say the same about the moon. It’s gorgeous.” 

“I know!!” Virgil looked back up, his eyes falling on the moon. “It looks like it’s made of silver.” He scooted closer to Roman and leaned his head on his shoulder. “Sometimes I look at the moon and realize it’s just chillin in space right now, hundreds of thousands of miles from us.” 

Roman hummed. “Me too. I wonder how big earth looks like to the moon, if the moon’s smaller than the earth and looks like that.” 

“Probably double the size? If I had to guess.”

“I wonder if moon aliens are doing what we’re doing right now, and debating what the moon looks like to us.” 

Virgil chuckled. “Possibly. We’ll never know.” 

The conversation lulled, and the two sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. 

Virgil wished so badly to be able to go back in time and tell his fifteen-year-old self that in a year, he’d be curled up at Roman Cappel’s side, gazing at the stars with him. A smile crept onto his face, and he buried his head further into the crook of Roman’s neck. 

Roman wrapped his arm around Virgil, eventually bringing it up to run his fingers through his hair. 

Neither of them wanted this moment to end. 

It seemed like they’d known each other for years, despite having officially met only two months ago. 

Roman looked down from the sky and back down at Virgil, whose face was completely hidden in his shoulder. “Vee?” 

Virgil perked his head up, and sat up from Roman’s shoulder. “Yeah?” 

A soft, fond smile spread across Roman’s face, and his eyelids fell to the middle of his eyes. He leaned towards Virgil, pressing their foreheads together. “Hi.” 

Virgil hummed. “Hi.” 

“...I don’t know what else to say.” Roman laughed nervously. 

“Me neither.” 

The two giggled with each other, both out of joy, and to fill the silence. 

Virgil pulled back so his forehead wasn’t touching Roman’s anymore, and almost immediately embraced him tightly, burying his head in his chest. 

Roman wrapped his arms tightly around Virgil, and let out a happy sigh. “I’m so glad I decided to use the bathroom before finals that one tournament.” 

Virgil laughed. “Me, too.” 

-

Logan was about to go to sleep when he felt his phone go off. Used to scary texts either from Virgil or Virgil’s mom, he rushed to open it and see what was going on. 

It was a text from Patton. 

( Patton Bailey: i know we hardly talk, but i just wanna talk to someone and ro and virgil are doing their couple thing and i have literally no other friends lol )

Logan frowned. He’d been in Patton’s shoes for the first 14 years of his life. Half of his grade school/middle school memories were eating lunch in his favorite teacher’s classroom, and the other half was hearing everyone in his grade level talk about a huge party that everyone seemed to be invited to but him. He wouldn’t have gone if he had been invited, but it still hurt. 

( L: of course. ) 

Logan was a little taken aback when Patton started calling him, but still picked up. 

“Hey… Sorry I keep dragging you into things. I just… needed *someone* to talk to.” 

Logan sat up in his bed. “You don’t have to apologize. I’d do the same.” 

Patton chuckled softly. “I guess. But, if I’m ever doing too much, or if you’re sick of constantly talking to me, please tell me. I don’t wanna annoy you.” 

“Well, you’re not annoying me. And you have yet to do so.” Logan cracked a reassuring smile, as if Patton could see it through the phone. “I’ve actually wanted to get to know you more.” 

Patton’s words got caught in his throat. “Aww-” he choked. “Really?” 

“You remind me a lot of me. And Virgil. Ever since we were talking in the hallway to get Roman and Virgil alone, I’ve wanted to talk to you more.” 

Patton’s heart swelled. He never would’ve thought this in a million years. “Me too! You seem super cool.” Immediately after he finished his sentence, he cursed himself for the use of the term ‘super cool’ over literally anything else. 

The corner of Logan’s mouth twitched up. “Thank you. You’re really cool, too.”

Patton murmured a “thank you” and the line went silent for a few seconds. 

“So… why did you call me? Not that I don’t like talking to you, but I feel there was a reason other than to make small talk. Is everything okay?” 

Patton let out a sigh and fell back, onto his bed. “I don’t know… Virgil says you give great advice, and I guess I wanted to vent to you, but you also hardly know me, so I feel it would be weird.” 

“Not at all. What’s going on?” 

“I feel like I’m not good enough. For, like, anything. I don’t know.” 

Logan’s stomach dropped. The way Patton was speaking was very similar to Virgil before he would spiral. “Well, first off, you are good enough. I don’t know what you’re referring to, but never underestimate your worth. Is there anything specific that’s causing this?” 

“There’s… there’s this boy I like… and he’s great.” 

Why was Logan feeling a weird feeling in his chest? Was it… jealousy? No… 

“I don’t know… I mean, I feel like he’s so much better than me. And he *deserves* so much better than me. But also, even if I didn’t think this, I don’t have a shot with him anyway.” 

“I don’t know who you’re talking about, but there’s no way he’s ‘so much better’ than you. If he told you that, or if his friends told you that, maybe he’s the one that isn’t good enough for you.” 

The two talked for quite a while, talking about worth and relationships, leading to less relevant, more general things as the hours passed. Patton kept almost falling asleep on the call, but forced himself to stay awake to keep the conversation going. 

Both of them were relieved when the conversation started to wind down, because they were both seconds away from passing out. 

“Thank you once again for talking with me. I owe you, like, a thousand solids.” Patton was too tired to laugh, but he desperately wanted to, to try and lighten his statement a bit. 

“I’m just doing what friends do. But, you’re welcome.” Logan mustered a smile with what energy he had left, even though Patton couldn’t see it. 

“I’d love to keep talking, but I really need to go to sleep.” 

“Same here. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight!” 

Logan hung up from the call and almost immediately fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aagh this has been in the drafts for AGES omg i really hope you enjoyed


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very long day.

There were many painful tournaments that happened every year, such as the first novice tournament, the first varsity tournament, and the tournament before regionals, but the one that takes the cake, at least for Logan and Virgil, was the first tournament of the new year. It was always the saturday before they went back to school from winter break, so they weren’t used to waking up early yet, let alone 4:45 in the morning, because the tournament was also *always* as far away as humanly possible. 

Logan woke up to Virgil calling him, assuming he probably needed his motivation to get out of bed. He plugged his earbuds into his phone so he didn’t have to hold it to his ear, and answered the call. 

“How’s it going over there?” Logan’s voice was gruff and deep, having just woken up. 

“Oh god…” Virgil sounded wide awake. “Roman told me a few days ago his brother is gonna come to see him perform today.” 

Logan tried to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. “Is that bad?” 

“What if he doesn’t like me?” 

Logan sat up in his bed and stretched, trying to get himself to truly wake up. “I’m sure he’ll come for one of his rounds, probably his third round because it’s the latest, then dip. Don’t worry about it too much.” He yawned. “And if something bad does happen, I can drive you home and tell Sanders you threw up or something.” 

Virgil let out a deep breath. “Thank you… oh god, why am I worrying so much about this?” 

“It’s normal to be anxious about these kinds of things.” Logan ran a hand through his hair. “I need to get ready. I’ll see you in an hour, okay? 

“Okay.” 

\- 

Virgil had a pit in his stomach the whole bus ride, and he noticed how he was heaving by the time he stepped foot into the school. He instinctively reached over to hold Logan’s hand, and squeezed it tight. 

“It’ll be okay, Virgil.” Logan wanted to promise, but even he wasn’t too sure about what would happen. 

Virgil settled in a seat at his table, and filled out his sheets to get his mind off Roman and his brother. 

He decided to look up for a second to see if Roman’s school had arrived, and saw a boy standing next to Roman who wasn’t wearing a suit, so he figured that was his brother. Virgil didn’t want to prejudge, but he didn’t look like the kind of guy he’d want to be alone in a room with. He decided he’d wait until Roman came to him, and wouldn’t go up himself. 

\- 

“Virgil!” Roman grinned ear to ear when he saw Virgil, looking for his rooms. 

Virgil turned around and smiled, and tried not to let it falter when he saw his brother not far behind. “Hi.” He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled nervously. He cursed himself for still treating Roman like the boy he was too shy to talk to, even though they’re now in a relationship, and have been for months. 

Roman looked over to his brother, who was now at his side. “This is my brother, Remus!” 

Virgil gave a friendly smile and waved, and his stomach dropped when Remus’ expression was stone cold. “Hey! Roman’s told me a lot about you.” He tried not to let his terror and embarrassment show. 

“I’m sure he has.” He crossed his arms and looked over to his brother. As if Virgil wasn’t standing five feet in front of him, he leaned over and said at a normal volume, “Really? Him?” 

It took Virgil a few seconds to register what Remus had said, and even after it had processed, he was still incredulous to what he had said. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it was not this. 

Roman didn’t know how to respond. He just stared at his brother in disbelief. 

Remus looked to Virgil, then back at Roman. “I don’t know, I just feel you could do so much better.” 

Virgil could feel the dam that he had been building up for years, start to crumble. He gripped the bottom of his suit jacket as tight as possible, and took a step back. 

Roman furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms, and tried not to let a scowl slip out, but failed. “I never said a word about your past boyfriends or girlfriends, even if I hated them with every inch of myself. You don’t even *know* him.” 

Virgil, one hand behind his neck, the other gripping his jacket, on the verge of tears, needed to get the hell out of there. “It’s been great meeting you, Remus, but I just remembered I need to tell my coach something.” Virgil didn’t stay for a second more after he finished speaking, and made a mad dash for the cafeteria. 

“Virgil, wait!” Roman started to run after him, when Remus grabbed his arm and pulled him back. 

“I don’t understand what you see in him. He looks like he’s seconds away from an overdose or something.” 

Roman ripped his arm out of Remus’ grasp. “What the fuck is with you!?” He didn’t wait for a response, if he would even get one. He rushed after Virgil, trying to navigate his way through the foreign school, as well as trying to think where Virgil would have gone. 

Virgil race walked through the school, trying not to cause a scene, eyes brimming with tears. He was surprised he hadn’t broken yet. He panicked when he saw Logan was with Patton, which meant he couldn’t go up to him for help. He resorted to hiding in the bathroom until he had to go to his round. 

Virgil locked himself in a stall, squatting on top of the toilet so no one could see his feet under the door. 

His blood ran cold when he could hear Roman calling for him, and eventually step into the bathroom. 

“Virgil? Are you in here?” 

He could just stay silent. Roman would leave, and he could continue to stay hidden from him and Remus. 

But he just couldn’t. 

“Yeah… I’m in here.” Virgil felt deep disappointment in himself for not being able to be quiet, as if he just let a million dollars slip down the drain. 

Roman let out the loudest sigh of relief. “Virgil, don’t listen to anything he says. My brother has been out to get me, and everyone around me, since the beginning. Patton fuckin’ hates him.” 

Virgil could almost feel his emotions, his anxiety, and his lack of self confidence taking over. All he wanted was to fall into Roman’s arms, and bawl his eyes out until he couldn’t physically produce tears anymore. But he couldn’t let Roman see this side of him, not yet. 

He was almost a state champion for DI last year! He knows exactly how to hide and manipulate his emotions, facial expressions, etc.. And boy, he’s about to put on a show that would make Mr. Sanders so damn proud. 

He took a deep breath, widened his eyes a bit, and forced a subtle smile. He opened the stall door and stepped out. “Oh! Yeah, I’m good, don’t worry. I was just freaking out, but I’m good now.” 

Roman’s facial expression softened. “...Are you sure?” 

“Of course!” Virgil forced out a chuckle. “Don’t worry about me, Ro. You’ve got your brother to take care of, and impress with your awesome poetry reading skills.” 

Roman tried not to let his suspicion show. “Whatever you say…” He frowned. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?” 

“Roman!” Virgil laughed. “I’m fine.” He looked Roman directly in the eyes and smiled. He felt like such a fraud, but he didn’t let the mask slip off. 

Roman pulled Virgil into his embrace. “I care about you, Vee. If everything isn’t fine, please tell me.” 

Virgil rested his head on Roman’s shoulder. “I promise I’m fine.” 

Roman exhaled, still not convinced, but didn’t push. He gently kissed Virgil’s temple and pulled away from the hug. “I’ll see you after our rounds, okay?” 

“You got it.” 

Virgil was seconds away from finally letting the mask slip off, but, of course, Roman decided he would ask if he wanted to walk to their rounds together, and, of course, he said yes. 

\- 

Virgil sought out the school’s most obscure bathroom, like maybe a staff bathroom, and settled on the one just outside the gym, since he figured no one would walk near it. The longer he was hiding, the more texts he started to get from Roman, Logan, Patton, and even Sanders. He just gave a vague response about being lost in the school, or practicing for his rounds, as he was just sitting, his thoughts getting more and more clouded. 

He wasn’t even crying, or brimming with emotions anymore. He just felt empty. He almost was mad at himself for being so worked up about this. His mind was going a mile a minute, spiraling further and deeper into self-loathing. He started reflecting on how overbearingly emotional he’s been, how sensitive, and how personally he takes these things. If he crumbles at hearing one negative comment about him, how could he possibly maintain a relationship with someone? He’s head over heels for Roman, but can’t even show the bare minimum of love for himsel-- 

“Virgil, I know you’re in here.” 

...Logan?

“...no I’m not.” 

(wow really) 

“V, what’s going on? Why are you in the gym bathroom?” Logan had the smallest hint of anger and annoyance in his voice, which was enough for Virgil to start welling up with tears again. 

Virgil opened the stall door to Logan, who had his arms crossed and a blank expression. He let out a loud sigh. “Long story short, the worst case scenario happened. I’ve been hiding in the bathroom because I was really hurt by what his brother said, and I don’t want him to know I’m hurt by it.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t even know why I’m so worked up about it. It’s not that big of a deal.” 

“Well, it’s clearly a big deal if you’re this hurt by it, to the point where you are *hiding in the gym bathroom*.” Logan sighed and pulled Virgil into a hug. “Whatever he said to you, I’m sure it isn’t true.”

“He took one look at me and then looked to Roman and told him he could do way better.” 

Logan’s heart broke in half. “What the fuck?” He held Virgil tighter. “I’m so sorry.” 

“I know.” 

Logan started to brim with anger at Remus, as well as sympathy for Virgil. He pulled away from the hug and looked Virgil in the eyes. “I want you to know that that says more about him than it does about you. He couldn’t even wait for you to leave to say that.” 

Virgil wiped his eyes. “I know… it’s just… I used to tell myself that every day. And I finally was able to convince myself it was my anxiety telling me that. And… it just fuckin’ broke me when he literally said Roman deserved better, because that means it’s not just in my head. It’s actually thought by another person.” 

“I understand how this can destroy you, but keep in mind that Remus was the one that said this, not Roman. Has Roman given any signs that he thinks he can do better than you?” 

Virgil let out a deep breath. “No… but, he’s also a decent human being. So maybe he does think that, but is nice enough to not let it show.” He had another depressing revelation, and took in a sharp breath. “And even if he didn’t think that before, now it’s planted in his head. He’s bound to think it sooner or later.” 

Logan crossed his arms. “Give the guy *some* credit. He seems like he really likes you, and wouldn’t be swayed by what his brother thinks of you.” 

“I guess…” 

Logan was about to say something along the lines of being there for Virgil if Roman were to think he deserved better, but decided against it. He didn’t want to feed the flame. 

“I’m pretty sure there’s a McDonald’s or something around here if you wanna go and get some food, as well as get your mind off things.” 

Virgil breathed out slowly. “That would be so great.” 

-

Once Roman got back home, he messaged Virgil to make sure everything was still okay. 

Virgil responded a few minutes later. 

VIRGIL  
yeah i was freaking out earlier but i’m fine now 

ROMAN  
are you sure? 

No response. 

Roman let out a sigh. He had had a bad feeling about Virgil all day, so he decided to actually go and see him in person. 

-

Virgil and his mom were watching Virgil’s comfort movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas, when there was a knock at the door. 

Ms. Pierce got up to answer the door and was slightly surprised to see Roman standing there, but the surprise was immediately replaced with overwhelming approval, as if she could approve of him even more than she already had. She mentally applauded him for making an effort to see his boyfriend when he was clearly hurting. “Hi, Roman.” A soft smile spread across her face. 

“Hi, Ms. Pierce.” Roman returned the smile. “May I talk to Virgil?” 

“Of course. He’s on the couch.” She beckoned for him to come in, and approved of him a pinge more when she saw he immediately took his shoes off when he came in. 

Virgil’s blood ran cold when he heard Roman’s voice softly calling him. 

Roman turned the corner and slowly approached Virgil. 

Virgil rubbed his eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry. For hardly communicating, for pretending to be okay…” 

“No, you don’t have to apologize. I get it. Honestly, I’d do the same.” Roman sat down next to Virgil. “But don’t feel you have to pretend with me, okay? I used to pretend to be happy around my mom and dad all the time, so they just assumed I was happy, when I was the exact opposite, so they never checked in on me or anything.” He frowned. “I know you don’t want people worrying about you, but pretending just makes it worse.” 

Virgil sighed. “Yeah… so maybe I wasn’t okay this whole day.” 

“I could tell.” Roman took Virgil’s hand and gently squeezed it. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand the inner workings of Remus’ mind. He’s a very… interesting person.” He scooted closer towards Virgil. “He will just say what he’s thinking, no matter how tone-deaf or inappropriate the thought is. Not that that justifies what he said about you, but… I don’t know. He’s just… a rude person in general, and you shouldn’t take anything he says to heart.” He leaned down to kiss Virgil’s knuckles. “It hurts, though. I know.” 

Virgil rubbed his face. “I don’t know… I…” He trailed off, deciding not to finish his thought. 

“Yes?” Roman asked, holding Virgil’s hand tighter. 

“I saw how you and Remus started to turn on each other… and knowing that was because of me…” 

“Oh, honey, no.” Roman cut Virgil off before he could say anything else. “Don’t blame yourself. Remus was being rude, and I got mad at him for it. Simple as that.” 

“I just feel like… this will cause a huge rupture in your relationship. If he disapproves of me, he’ll probably keep bringing it up… and you will keep butting heads until you genuinely hate each other.” He sighed. “I don’t want to ruin any of your relationships, especially your relationship with your brother. And if I am… maybe… we shouldn’t… be together.” 

“Virgil…” Roman pulled his boyfriend into his embrace, his heart breaking. “Don’t think that my brother’s disapproval should be enough of a reason for us not to be together. Virgil, I love y--” 

Both of them stopped dead in their tracks. Virgil pulled out of the hug, looking Roman in the eye, who was just as shocked as him. 

The shock faded from Roman’s face, and a small smile replaced it. “I love you, Virgil.” 

Virgil was able to hold in his tears the whole day, but couldn’t fight it after what Roman had just said. Once the dam broke, tears started to spill out of his eyes faster than the speed of light, it seemed like. “I love you too, Roman,” he managed to choke out. 

Roman grinned ear to ear and pulled Virgil into another hug. “Oh my god, I’ve been wanting to say that for nearly a month.” 

“Me, too.” Virgil squeezed his eyes shut, causing two more tears to fall out. “Sorry, I’m such a wreck,” he said through a hiccup. He took a deep breath and pulled away from Roman. 

Roman instinctively wiped Virgil’s tears away with his thumb. “You’re not a wreck,” he reassured. “You’ve been through a lot today.” 

“...when did you know? That you loved me?” 

“That night we went stargazing last month. I almost told you, but freaked out because I thought it was too soon.” 

Virgil laughed softly. “Is that why you just said ‘hi’ randomly?” 

Roman rubbed the back of his neck and let out a breathy laugh. “You got me. What about you?” 

“We were walking back from one of our rounds and I turned to you, and almost said it. This was late November or early December, I’m pretty sure.” 

The corner of Roman’s mouth twitched up. “Aww. We both realized around the same time, just about.” 

Virgil smiled softly. “I…” He let out a breathy laugh and looked away from Roman. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. 

“Hm?” Roman tilted his head to the side. “What were you gonna say?” 

“Oh…” Virgil looked back to Roman and forced out a laugh. “I don’t know…” He ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry I got so weird today. It was early in the morning, I woke up at like 3 and couldn’t sleep, which probably played into a lot of my weird, irrational thinking…” 

“I wouldn’t say ‘irrational’.” Roman frowned. “I mean, I would’ve reacted the same way. You were hurt. And didn’t know what to do.” 

“I guess..” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck. 

Roman didn’t want to press on, and tried to change the subject to something, anything, that didn’t have to do with the events that occurred that day. He looked over at the TV and saw the paused movie. It was paused right on a frame in the middle of the mayor switching heads. A little terrifying. “Nightmare Before Christmas, eh? I used to love this movie when I was younger.” 

A smile spread across Virgil’s face . “Yeah. It’s my all time favorite movie.” 

“It’s a good movie! I’m a sucker for anything Disney.” Roman scooted closer to Virgil. “I watched this one a lot during my emo phase.” He paused and re-thought his statement. “Well, my Panic! at the Disco phase, which… I guess is emo, but…” Roman cut himself off and chuckled. “Nevermind.” 

Virgil laughed harder than he should’ve. 

“Don’t laugh at me.” Roman tried to keep a straight face for the joke but just couldn’t help but crack a smile. 

Virgil started cracking up again. “Sorry… sorry… it wasn’t even that funny…” he managed to get out through spurts of laughing. 

The two couldn’t stop cracking up for a while. 

Ms. Pierce, who was eavesdropping the whole time, and totally wasn’t on the brink of tears at some point, swooped in and pretended to be checking in, as if she didn’t know exactly what had just happened. “How are you boys doing?” 

Roman turned to Ms. Pierce and gave her a friendly smile. “Doing good!” 

“Doing good, mom.” Virgil smiled. “Love you!” 

Ms. Pierce smiled and turned to leave the room. “Love you, Virge.” 

Roman turned back to Virgil, clearly hesitant to speak, but Virgil couldn’t tell what he’d be hesitant to say or ask. 

“What?” 

“I know this is weird to ask but… how old is your mom?” 

Virgil hummed. “Not weird. She’s 33.” 

“Oh.” Roman did the math. “...oh.” 

“Yeah…” Virgil shrugged and sat back, sinking into the couch cushions behind him. “I mean, it wasn’t life-altering or anything. Well, it was, obviously, but it wasn’t that detrimental; her parents supported her, they helped raise me with her, and took care of me when she had school, and we moved out… six years ago. And I turned out fine, I think.” 

“You turned out completely fine,” Roman reassured, even though he knew Virgil was making a joke. 

Virgil preened. “Thanks.” 

Roman looked over to the still paused movie, and pulled out his phone to check the time. 8:30. “Do you wanna watch the rest of the movie? Or… would you rather me leave and finish it with your mom?” 

“I mean, I’d love for you to stay, but what time does your mom want you home by?” 

“Oh shit, I forgot curfew existed.” Roman chuckled. “Like, 11.” 

“That’s more than enough time, if you wanna stay.” 

“Of course!” 

Virgil hit play on the movie, and the two got settled on the couch, curling up into each other. 

The two watched the movie in silence for a while, until Roman randomly spoke up. 

“Virge?” 

Virgil looked up at Roman. “Yeah?” 

Roman smiled fondly at Virgil. “I love you.” He tilted his head down and kissed the top of Virgil’s head, keeping his head there for a few seconds before pulling Virgil into a tight embrace. He let out a happy sigh. “No one has ever made me feel the way you do…” He slowly leaned back onto the cushions upright on the back of the couch, taking Virgil with him. “Just seeing you smile makes me happier than I was entirely in my past relationships. I know we’re both only seventeen, not even out of high school, but I would love to spend the rest of my life with you if you’d want to.” 

Virgil knew Roman was a very romantic person, and figured half of the stuff he was saying, he was pulling out of his ass, but he was sure his heart was about to burst; after the events that had happened that day, and the confessions that had happened roughly an hour ago, his heart just couldn’t take it. A few tears started to spill out again, but a lot slower, and more controlled than last time. It took a minute for Virgil to collect himself, but once he finally did, he looked back up at Roman and smiled. “I would love to.” He hummed. He wanted to be somewhat poetic, but couldn’t come up with anything on the fly, so he used a line from one of his favorite movies. “Our love will last until the stars turn cold.” 

A fond smile spread across Roman’s face. “Till the stars turn cold.” He kissed Virgil’s temple and chuckled softly. “Don’t think that Singin’ in the Rain reference got past me.” 

Virgil hummed as he kissed Roman’s cheek. "You got me." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really hope i wrote this well! i had this specific plot point planned out since i wrote the first chapter, and i've imagined this chapter in my head millions of times, written it a million times, proofread it a million times, etc., and i really hope you enjoyed it! aaa !!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> logan's quite the wordsmith.

“Afternoon, Ms. Pierce,” Logan greeted as he stepped through the front door, into the Pierce household.

Ms. Pierce turned to Logan and smiled. “Hi, Logan! Virgil’s in his room.” 

“Great.” Logan jogged up the stairs and knocked on Virgil’s bedroom door. “Virgil, we have a problem.” 

Virgil hesitantly opened his door. “What’s up, L?” 

Logan entered the room and shut the door before speaking. “Okay so…” He rubbed his face with both his hands. “Oh god… okay…” 

“What did you do?” 

“Nothing… okay so…” He went to sit on Virgil’s bed and grunted. “How did you know you liked Roman? Or, anyone you’ve liked, really.” 

Virgil gasped. Throughout the three years of knowing each other, Logan had never shown any sort of romantic interest in anyone that wasn’t Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, and Virgil couldn’t contain his excitement for his friend. He leaned against the wall and grinned. “You’re crushing!?” 

Logan fell back onto Virgil’s bed and sighed. “At least, I think I am. I’ve never felt something like this about someone before, so I’m guessing it’s a crush.” 

“Who is it?” 

“...Patton.” 

Virgil grinned ear to ear. “Aww Logan!!!” He hopped onto his bed next to Logan, ready to ask a thousand questions. 

Logan sat up, his face nearly beet red. “I don’t know, though. It’s hard to tell whether it’s genuine or not.” 

“What do you mean?” Virgil scooted to the middle of his bed, causing Logan to follow. 

Logan sighed. “I mean… you know me. I have hardly any real friends besides you, and I’ve never had a romantic partner before… besides you, but that doesn’t really count.” 

Virgil tilted his head, not quite getting it. “So, this should be a good thing, right?” 

Logan looked down and winced slightly. “It should be, but what I’m fearing is that the only reason I feel like this is because,” he looked Virgil in the eyes, “I’ve been craving intimacy with a romantic partner for years now, and he’s the first person who’s shown interest in getting to know me better in a while, so I feel like my brain is just telling me to be in a relationship with him.” He frowned and looked down slightly. “It’s so hard to tell.” 

Virgil hummed, taking in everything Logan just said. He started to realize how Logan hardly vented to him, and made a note to himself to tell Logan to do it more often, if he needed to. “Well, I guess, you just need to give it time? I don’t wanna say what you’re saying is right or wrong, because you know yourself better than anyone, but, just see what happens the next time you see Patton.” He gave a sympathetic smile. “I’m happy for you, though, if you really do like him. You guys would be really cute together.” 

“I know!!!” Logan buried his head in his hands. “*He’s* really cute.” He snorted. “Now I know how you felt when you would think about Roman all the time.” 

“Yup, pretty much.” 

“How do I… how do I talk to him?” 

Virgil shrugged. He had no substantial advice that wasn’t ‘be yourself’. “Just be friendly, like you usually are, and, uhh… maybe compliment him, like his hair… or his glasses… I don’t know.” 

“Oh, god… I can already tell this isn’t gonna be fun.” Logan rubbed his temple, laughing dryly.

“But it sure will be entertaining for the rest of us!” Virgil grinned smugly. 

-

“Hi, Logan!” Patton grinned when he saw the taller boy in the hallway. 

Some people get butterflies when they’re flustered or nervous, but Logan seemed to get the whole animal kingdom. He turned to look at Patton and smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Hey, Patton!” 

[what did Virgil say what did Virgil say uhhhhh] 

[FUCk uhhh WHAT DO I SAY]

“I like what you did with your hair! Did you… cut it? Style it differently?” 

“... No, not that I can think of! Just.. same old same old.” Patton chuckled as he ran a hand through his, unchanged, hair. “But thank you!” He beamed.

[why do I even try] 

Logan forced out a laugh. “Sorry, I’m just… blind,” he took off his glasses, “as you could probably tell. My prescription is, like, -20,” he joked as he gestured to his glasses. “You are a complete blur right now.” He wasn’t lying. He couldn’t make out any of Patton’s physical features. It was just a bunch of fuzz. 

Patton giggled. “Yeah, I can hardly see without mine, either.” He took off his glasses, and held them out to Logan, offering for him to put them on without saying anything. 

Logan took the glasses and promptly offered his to Patton. 

Patton’s eyes could hardly handle how harsh Logan’s prescription was. “Wow, you really are blind,” he joked, wincing and squeezing his eyes shut as if he was staring at the sun, and started to grow dizzy. 

Logan laughed. “Yeah. Your glasses are hardly doing anything for me,” he remarked. 

The two exchanged their glasses again, and both let out a small sigh of relief when their eyes didn’t seem to be under attack anymore. 

“Have you already found your rooms? Or…” Logan trailed off, wanting to ask to look together, but couldn’t, for some reason. 

“Nope!” Patton shook his head. “Have you?” Before Logan even had the chance to answer, he offered to look together. 

“I haven’t, and sure!” 

[he didn’t even hesitate to ask why are you such a wreck] 

The two had gotten to know each other somewhat well, and were somewhat familiar with each other, yet they couldn’t seem to maintain a conversation that didn’t die on their tongues seconds later. 

Logan’s eyes kept darting down to Patton’s hand, wishing he had the courage to just ask to hold it. He didn’t even notice how he started to walk closer to Patton to the point where their hands brushed, and he immediately backtracked, keeping 3-4 feet between them. 

Logan felt a huge weight lifted from his chest when he saw Virgil and Roman as he and Patton turned the corner. He racewalked up to his best friend and ushered him away from Roman, where they were out of earshot of both Roman and Patton. 

“What’s up? Are you okay?” Virgil furrowed his eyebrows, trying to process what had just happened. 

“Okay yeah I definitely like Patton. And I’m already doing a sucky job trying to flirt.” 

“Oh no, what did you say?” 

Logan sighed heavily. “I asked if he’d done something different with his hair, which he clearly hadn’t, but I said it anyway, and as we were walking… dear god, it was just super awkward.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes. “I almost held his damn hand. Out of impulse.” 

Virgil winced. “Yikes… well, at least you stopped yourself from holding his hand, right?” 

Logan shrugged. “I guess…” He breathed out sharply through his nose. “I have no way with words, like, at all. I’d have better luck just saying ‘I’m flirting with you’ than actually trying to be witty or something.” 

Virgil snorted. “Okay, you’re not *that* bad. At least you didn’t text Patton, ‘you wanna hold hands and shit at the next tourney’ like me.” 

Logan tried his best to stifle a laugh, but failed. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” 

“Just… talk to him normally, and… maybe ask if he has any plans any time soon.” Virgil shrugged. “I mean, you two seem friendly enough with each other.” 

Logan nodded. “Okay…” He hung his head, laughing. “Dear god, I’m a lost cause.” 

“No you’re not.” Virgil lightly shoved Logan. “You’re doing fine. The talking stage is always awkward.” 

Roman slowly approached the two talking, knowing he was intruding, but also couldn’t help but be nosy. “What’s going on?” 

Virgil and Logan looked to each other, then back to Roman. 

Logan sighed. “Boy problems.” 

Roman tilted his head to the side. “With… you? Or… Virgil? Because…” His expression grew concerned on the implication of his boyfriend having boy problems. 

Virgil laughed. “It’s Logan. We’re good,” he reassured.

Roman exaggerated a sigh of relief. He figured it was Logan, but one can never be too sure. “So…” The corner of his mouth twitched up. “Who’s the boy?” 

“Take a wild guess.” 

Before Roman could say anything, the boy in question popped his head into the conversation. 

“Hey, Patton!” Virgil extended his arms out, inviting him to hug him, which Patton obviously accepted. While Patton was in his embrace, Virgil made eye contact with Roman and mouthed, “Patton.” 

Roman’s jaw hit the floor. “No way!” he whispered, as quietly as he could. 

Patton let go from Virgil’s embrace and faced the group again. “So, what’re you guys talking about?” 

The three looked to each other awkwardly, trying to come up with something other than Patton. 

“Speech… stuff…” As the words were coming out of Logan’s mouth, he immediately regretted ever being given the ability to speak and wanted to just combust then and there. 

Patton raised an eyebrow, chuckling. “What kind of speech stuff?” 

“Oh, y’know…” Virgil’s head scrambled for something, anything to say. He desperately looked to Roman, trying to get him to say something. 

Roman picked up on the cue, but couldn’t think of anything to say, either. 

“...Cute boys on rivaling teams.” 

Virgil and Roman’s heads whipped towards Logan, and both their hearts broke slightly when they saw Patton sink oh so subtly. 

“..Oh!” Patton forced an eager smile. “Like who?” 

The other three began to sweat like no other. Neither Roman nor Virgil could say anything, since they were both in a relationship, which meant it’s up to Logan to say something, which he’s already proven he’s not the best at doing. 

Logan rubbed the back of his neck, digging his nails into it. He hadn’t paid attention to any people on other teams besides his competitors, Virgil’s competitors, and Roman and Patton. And… 3/4 of those options he wasn’t interested in. What else could he say? “Uh…” 

Virgil and Roman were about to die of second hand embarrassment for Logan. Roman was trying with every inch of himself to not show on the outside how hard he was cringing, and Virgil had given up on trying to hide it at this point. 

“I mean…” Logan forced out a dry laugh. “Coaches are pretty hot.” 

Virgil didn’t have enough time to stifle his laugh, causing Roman to start cracking up. They looked to each other, both extremely shocked from what Logan had just said. 

Patton giggled. “Yeah, they are.” He looked around the hallway. “Any specific ones?” 

Roman and Virgil looked to each other, both with “oh dear god” written all over their faces. 

Logan stuck his hands in his pockets, as if hiding his hands away will do the same for the rest of him. “No, just kinda…” He trailed off, wishing for anything to just sweep him off the face of the earth. “Passing glances, y’know?” 

Patton nodded. “I get you. Sometimes I falter in my rounds when I first go up there because the judge is so cute.” He let out an embarrassed laugh. 

Logan threw his head back and laughed. “Okay I’ve never done *that*... but I feel that on a personal level.” His awkward tension slightly started to melt away and finally remembered what it’s like to have a normal conversation with Patton. 

“I’ve done that with so many people it’s a little embarrassing…” Patton rubbed the back of his neck and laughed. “That happened the first time I saw you!” 

Logan’s heart somehow seemed to stop beating and start pounding at the same time. Any composure he had regained was lost again. “Wow…” He let out a breathy laugh. “Real… Really?” 

“Probably was a weird thing to tell you, in hindsight…” 

“No! Honestly, I think it’s kinda cute.” Logan smiled at Patton, completely shocked he managed to be the slightest bit smooth. 

Patton’s face heated up. “Well, I guess it is.” 

Roman and Virgil slowly walked away from the other two, not wanting to intrude. 

As they turned to leave, they looked to each other and couldn’t stop cracking up. 

“Did Logan just say he has a thing for older men?” Roman wiped his eyes, still unable to stop laughing. 

“Yeah I think he did!” Virgil wheezed. 

“We’re never letting him live that down.”

“Oh, never.” 

-

“So, did you have a hot coach in your round?” Virgil teased when he saw Logan coming back from his second round. Virgil and Roman had the biggest shit-eating grins on their faces when Logan came and sat with them. 

Logan laughed and covered his face with his hands. “Shut the fuck up, oh my god.” 

Virgil cackled. “You could’ve just said, like, Roman as a joke, or Patton if you wanted to be bold. But no-” Virgil threw his head back in another fit of laughter, and wiped his eyes. “Those coaches are awfully hot, don’t you think?” 

Roman and Virgil burst into a loud fit of laughter, falling into each other’s arms and slamming their fists onto the table. 

Logan’s face grew redder and redder and he buried his face further into his hands. “I don’t know, I panicked!” 

Roman wiped his eyes. “Ah, god… honestly, knowing me, my ass would’ve done the exact same thing.” 

Logan laid his head on the table and let out a long groan. “Why must this be so difficult?” 

Roman shrugged. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, Patton thinks it’s cute when guys aren’t the best with words. So, keep doing what you’re doing??” 

“I guess...” 

Roman felt his phone buzz from his suit pocket. When he pulled it out, he saw it was a text from Virgil. 

“ virgil 🖤: do we tell him patton likes him back and to just fuckin go for it or,,, should we not do that “

Roman looked up to Virgil and shrugged, wincing. “I don’t know,” he whispered. 

“Me neither.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman's competitive spirit isn't as healthy as everyone else's.

“You ready for today?” Virgil smiled softly when he saw Roman. 

The tournament before regionals was definitely #2 in Virgil and Logan’s List of Horrible Tournaments That Aren’t Seen As Horrible By Anyone Else. The scores each competitor receives in the last normal tournament of the season determines whether or not they are placed on their school’s regional team, so the stakes, as well as everyone’s blood pressure, are high. 

Roman squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled, looking as though he was trying not to cry. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” 

Virgil reached over and held Roman’s hand firmly. “Hey, you’re going to do great.” 

Roman inhaled sharply through his nose. “God… I’m sure I’ll do fine…” He rubbed his temple with his one free hand. “But.. what if this is the one tournament I flub, or I forget my piece?” 

Virgil rubbed up and down Roman’s hand with his thumb. “If you forget your piece, your book still has everything written down in it. Worse comes to worse, you look down at your book for a second, which everyone in Poetry does.” 

“...what if I drop the book?” 

Virgil chuckled softly, only realizing after the fact that he probably shouldn’t laugh. “Well, try to play it off as part of your piece.” He leaned in and gently kissed his boyfriend’s forehead. “You’re going to do great today. Don’t beat yourself up, okay?” 

Roman exhaled slowly. “I’ll try not to… no promises.” He forced out a dry laugh. 

-

“How’d your first round go?” Logan eagerly approached Patton and awaited his response. 

“It went well! At least, I think it did.” Patton giggled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you go yet?” 

“Yup, just coming back from my first round.” Logan smiled. “I’m sure you were great.” 

Patton beamed. “I’m sure you were, too.” 

The two started to walk back to the cafeteria together in uncomfortable silence. Logan’s eyes kept darting down to Patton’s hand, then back to in front of him, then slightly down to Patton’s lips. His face heated up slightly, and cleared his throat to fill the silence. 

Patton tried to think of something, anything to spark a conversation. “...how’s Virgil?” As the question was leaving his mouth, he cursed himself for being the worst at icebreakers. 

Logan hummed. “He’s doing okay, as far as I know. The whole Remus incident knocked him down a few pegs, but he’s been doing pretty good since all of that.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “And he and Roman couldn’t be happier.” 

The corners of Patton’s mouth quirked up. “Yeah! I’m so happy for them. They’ve been together almost three months now, right?” 

“Yeah, wow,” Logan remarked. “Seems like just yesterday he was running up to me telling me all about the cute boy he saw in an HDA round.” He chuckled. 

“Oh my goodness! HDA!” Patton laughed. “I was his partner last year. That’s so funny.” 

Logan hummed fondly. “I didn’t know that! Strange how Virgil would only talk about Roman, and not his absolutely adorable partner.” 

Both of them were a little taken aback by what Logan said. Patton’s face had reached a shade of red that hadn’t been invented yet, and Logan was in absolute disbelief that he just called Patton ‘absolutely adorable’ with his full chest. 

Patton put his hand behind his neck, and tried to stifle his giddy smile. “Everyone has their type, I guess.” He was seconds away from adding, ‘and you’re mine’ but decided against it. 

-

Virgil walked over to Roman’s table, seeing him sitting alone with his head down. He sat across from him and lightly tapped his shoulder, whispering, “Everything okay?” 

Roman lifted his head from the table, revealing red, puffy eyes, and a miserable grimace. “I’m fine… I’m just freaking out.” 

Virgil’s heart shattered. “Oh, Roman, honey…” He quickly moved around the table to sit next to Roman, and wrapped his arms around him tightly. “What happened?” 

Roman sniffled and forced out a laugh. “I’m just freaking out. I’m sure I did fine, I probably did fine.” 

Virgil traced circles on Roman’s back. “Every time I’ve seen your piece, you have blown it out of the water. There’s no way you could have been any less than great these past two rounds.” 

Roman slowly pulled away from Virgil’s embrace, and wiped his eyes with his wrist. “Yeah… I don’t know…” He hiccuped. “I mean, I won state last year, so that’s been hanging over my head all day… all week, honestly. If I don’t break this tournament, the tournament before the state series, not even fucking regionals… does that mean it’s all down from here?” His chest tightened. “What will my coach say? What will you say? What will Remus say? What will my dad--” His voice gradually got higher and higher with each “what will” until he broke, and he was instantly back, head on the table, crying into his elbows. “Oh god, what will my dad say?” he choked out. 

Virgil wrapped his arm around Roman’s shoulders, placing a kiss on the back of his head. “Your coach has seen you grow and get better at your piece this whole year, and knows just how much effort you put into speech. Remus, me, your dad… we all love you, and wouldn’t just turn on you because you didn’t win a speech tournament, which the scores and rankings are purely opinion based, and slightly biased, in my opinion.” He rubbed up and down Roman’s back. “And just because you won state sophomore year doesn’t mean you peaked then. Like we were telling Patton that one day, life is a series of peaks and valleys, not one big peak and it’s downhill from there.” 

Roman sat back up and took a deep breath. He looked back to Virgil, who instantly cupped his face with his hand and wiped his tears away with his thumb. Roman held his hand over Virgil’s, a smile trying, but failing, to spread across his face. He leaned into his boyfriend’s hand and shut his eyes. “God, why do you love me?” 

“Roman…” Virgil furrowed his eyebrows. “I love you because you’re a dork, you’re a sweetheart, you’re absolutely amazing at any event you’re in… Roman, I love everything about you.” He pulled Roman into his embrace. “Don’t beat yourself up about this. Third rounds haven’t even happened yet. We can freak out together when posters go up, okay?” He slowly pulled away and looked Roman in his eyes. 

Roman nodded, still unable to muster even the smallest smile. “Okay.” 

-

“End of third rounds, how we feeling?” Logan approached Patton and instinctively put his arm around him, and immediately started panicking after he’d realized what he’d just done. But despite being embarrassed, he didn’t pull his arm away. 

Patton was slightly taken aback by Logan wrapping his arm around his shoulders, but smiled and wrapped his arm around his waist. “I’m… I’m doing pretty good! I think I did well.” 

“That’s good to hear.” 

The two stopped walking in the middle of the hallway, both expecting the other to do something, both too scared to take an initiative. 

[oh my god just do it]  
[JUST DO IT]   
[(nike)]  
[LITERALLY YOU HAVE HIS ARM AROUND HIM]  
[YOU ARE FIVE INCHES FROM HIS FACE]  
[JUST FUCKING DO IT]

Logan leaned in slightly, his heart pounding. As much as he just wanted to lean down and kiss him, he just couldn’t. 

Patton wanted to just take Logan’s face and pull him down himself to kiss him, but he just couldn’t, either. 

The two just looked at each other for a few more seconds until Patton couldn’t take it anymore and decided to just ruin the moment. He jerked his head away and started coughing into his elbow. “Agh, sorry…” Patton choked out a laugh and pulled his other arm away from Logan’s waist, causing Logan to pull his arm away, too. “Choked on my own spit, there.” Which was a complete lie, but anything to cut the awful tension. 

“Oh, I hate that.” Logan chuckled. 

The two started walking again, both pretending what just happened, didn’t happen. 

-

“Roman, breathe.” Virgil was trying his hardest to console his boyfriend, who was on the verge of a complete breakdown. He gently held the back of Roman’s head, hoping it would calm him down. “You can freak out once Poetry posters go up, okay?”

Roman couldn’t respond. His mind was going a mile a minute, and his breathing patterns were completely out of whack. He just took Virgil’s hand and squeezed it. 

Virgil’s heart was breaking for Roman. He embraced him as tightly as he could. “Whether you do or don’t break today won’t change what I think of you, or how talented I think you are. You know that, right?” He turned his head and planted multiple kisses on Roman’s temple. 

It took a few seconds for Roman to calm down enough to be able to talk without being too choked up. “I’m so sorry… oh my god… I just get so worked up over nothing…” 

“I wouldn’t say *nothing*...” Virgil ran his fingers through Roman’s hair. “It’s stressful! Last tournament before regionals, everyone’s freaking out. It’s not just you. And even if it was just you, it’s a valid reason to be freaking out.” He smiled sadly and kissed his boyfriend’s forehead. “It’ll be okay, Ro. Watch. Everything’s gonna be fine.” 

Roman took a deep breath. “God, I hope.” 

It took a few minutes for posters to go up. Virgil noticed two posters went up for each event, meaning they were having next-in finals, or a second final for the runners-up because there were so many people competing. He thought this was a good thing, since it meant Roman had a bigger chance of breaking. 

Boy, was he wrong. 

When the two posters for Poetry went up, and Roman saw his name on the next-in poster, every part of the dam behind his eyes that was still standing crumbled to the ground, and Roman started to sob loud and hard in the middle of the crowded cafeteria. 

Virgil immediately took his hand and led him out of the crowded, loud, room, and into a less congested hallway, and sat him down in a corner with his hands on his shoulders. “Roman… Roman… Listen…” 

Roman hadn’t cried this loud, hard, and messy since he was a child. He was overwhelmingly embarrassed by how he was acting, but he just couldn’t calm down. Seeing his name under “Next-In for Poetry” didn’t equate to “I made next-in!”, it equated to, “I *only* made next in.” 

“Breathe… breathe… it’s okay, love. It’s okay.” 

Roman tried his hardest to steady his breathing. “Oh, god-” he managed to choke out.

Virgil pulled Roman into his embrace. “Ro, it’s okay.” He traced circles on his back. “Breathe… breathe. Remember, in for 4.” 

Roman took in a deep breath, and Virgil counted the seconds out loud. 

“Good, good. Hold for 7.” Virgil counted to seven, a smile starting to form when he could feel Roman’s body start to un-tense. “Now, out for 8.” Roman breathed out, and Virgil counted to eight. “Good.” He turned and kissed his temple. 

Roman melted into Virgil’s embrace and leaned his head into the crook of his neck, and slightly onto the side of Virgil’s face. He was completely drained, physically and mentally, from his episode, as well as the entire day. He squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced. “Ugh… god. I’m so sorry. What am I doing? Why am I throwing a damn tantrum about only making next-in?” 

Virgil held Roman tighter. “I wouldn’t say a *tantrum*... You’ve been through a lot today.” He smiled sadly and stroked the back of Roman’s shoulder with his thumb. He was about to encourage him to get first to prove he deserved to be in the real final, but decided against it. He didn’t need any more pressure to succeed than he already had right now. “All that matters is that you think you did good.” He chuckled softly. “You remember that one episode of Victorious with the bird scene?”

Roman sniffed. “...yeah?” 

“Tori did the scene over and over, adding new props, new costumes, new sets, etcetera… but did that help her pass the scene?” 

“It didn’t.” 

“You know what did make her pass?” 

Roman’s breath steadied. “She finally snapped and said she didn’t care what Sikowitz said, and that she thought she did great.” 

“Yup.” Virgil smiled and kissed Roman’s cheek. “That’s what you gotta do.” 

Roman chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

“You ready to go kick ass?” Virgil pulled away and placed his hands on Romans shoulders. 

Roman laughed and wiped his eye. “I’m sure I’ll be fully ready in a few minutes.” 

“That’s the spirit!” 

-

“Will the finalists in Next-In for Poetry please come on stage.” 

Both Roman and Virgil’s hearts were racing. Selfishly, Virgil didn’t want to have to console Roman again if he ended up getting a low rank, but he tried to push out that thought since he knew he would definitely do it if Roman needed him to. 

The announcer listed four names that weren’t Roman, and with each name, everyone grew more and more anxious. 

Roman knew the other competitor, though. He’d seen their piece multiple times, and it was absolutely great. Not to mention, they’re also a sweetheart. He tried to push his selfishness aside and tell himself that they deserved it if he got second. 

“In second place… Roman Cappel!” 

A bittersweet smile spread across Roman’s face and he shook the other competitor’s hand before walking over to receive his medal. 

As he sat down, he felt his phone buzz. 

“ virgil 🖤: 2nd place is pretty dope “ 

He chuckled softly to himself and responded:

“ it sure is “ 

-

There was always a 10-15 minute grace period between the end of awards and being obligated to leave. 

Virgil rushed over to Roman and gave him a bone-crushing hug. “I’m so fuckin proud of you.” 

“Thank you so much.” Roman smiled broadly and returned Virgil’s tight embrace. “I’m proud of me, too.” 

Virgil beamed and kissed Roman’s cheek. “You should be!”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the people progressing to state get revealed, and logan and patton get much, much closer.

“....and the top three in Poetry Reading… that will be progressing to STATE… are…” 

Virgil, Roman, Logan, and Patton were on the edges of their seats. Both Virgil and Roman had broken into finals, meaning there was a chance the both of them could be progressing to state. Logan’s hand had lost all its circulation from Virgil’s death grip on it as the tension kept building up. 

“... Janus Rivero!” 

If Virgil’s heart were to have been pounding any harder than it already was, he was convinced his ribs would shatter. 

“...Virgil Pierce!” 

Virgil and Logan both couldn’t help but scream. Everyone on their team looked to Virgil with wide grins and loud cheers, everyone in sheer disbelief and pure excitement that a team member would be competing at state. 

Logan eventually had to push Virgil out of his seat because he had to go up on stage. 

As Virgil was walking up the steps to the stage, the announcer called the final name: 

“...and Roman Cappel!!”

Virgil’s eyes became almost perfect circles, and his cheeks began to hurt from how hard he was grinning. 

Roman ran on stage, half ecstatic and half terrified. Out of pure adrenaline, he ran and jumped into Virgil’s arms, causing Virgil to fumble and almost fall, but he managed to keep his balance and spun around with his boyfriend in his arms, bridal style. 

Everyone in the crowd started cheering, like they did every time they showed some stupid form of PDA each time they both were on stage for awards together. There was nothing better than a speech power couple in the eyes of every speech team in their section, apparently. 

Roman finally got down from Virgil’s arms and the two shared a bone-crushing hug. 

“I can’t believe it!! We’re going to state!!” Roman exclaimed between pants, out of breath from both the anxiety and running up on stage. 

“Me neither! ...holy shit!”

When Virgil finally got back in his seat, neither him nor Logan stopped freaking out and celebrating with each other until it was time for the top three in INFO to be announced. Once the announcer mentioned the top three for Logan’s event, the two best friends’ roles switched, with Logan’s hand gripping onto Virgil’s shoulder, Virgil trying not to scream from the pain, and the both of them on the very edge of their seats. 

“Progressing onto state…. Logan Foster!!” 

Logan and Virgil let out a collective scream, followed by a tight embrace before Logan made his way up the steps to the stage. 

-

After awards were over, the auditorium, as well as anywhere else in the school, was just a plethora of screaming, celebrating, crying, and pretty much any other extreme display of emotion. 

Mr. Sanders was quick to congratulate Logan and Virgil once awards were over. “That’s what I’m talking about!” The coach grinned and pulled the two into a group hug. “I’m so damn proud of you guys. Even if you didn’t make top 3, even if you didn’t break, you guys have grown and improved so much since the beginning of the season.” He pulled away from the hug and ruffled Virgil’s hair. “I remember when you didn’t even wanna *compete* because there was a cute boy in your final, and now look at you!” 

Virgil chuckled and slightly flushed. “Almost 4 months!” He jokingly pumped his fist. 

“And look at you!” Sanders shifted his attention to Logan. “Mr. Gone-to-state-for-INFO-three-years-in-a-row!” 

Logan tried to stifle his preening after Sanders’ remark, but failed. “What can I say?”

Sanders let out a small, excited scream. “You guys are gonna kick ASS at state.” 

“You know it!” Virgil crossed his arms and smirked, trying to hide the terror about competing at state starting to seep in. 

Logan was about to say something to Virgil when he heard what sounded like Roman and Patton running up behind them. 

“OHMYGOD!!!!” 

Yup, definitely them. 

“I still can’t fucking believe it!” Roman’s voice was slightly higher and squeakier than the last time Virgil had heard it. After closer examination, Virgil noticed that Roman’s face was pinkish-red, and his eyes were glassy, with at least one tear ready to escape at any second. 

He pulled Roman into his embrace. “Me neither!” 

“I’m so proud of you, Logan!” Patton tightly embraced Logan, bubbling with excitement. 

After he pulled away, pumping with adrenaline and not thinking, he went up on his toes and kissed Logan, not pulling away until after he realized what he’d done. Once he finally did, he took a big step back and threw his hands over his mouth, wanting to just melt into the floor. “Oh my god… oh my god… holy shit. Logan, I--” 

Before Patton could say or do anything else, Logan took a step forward, pulling Patton into another long, passionate kiss. Patton, after processing what was happening, wrapped his hands around Logan’s neck, pulling his face closer towards his. 

Roman and Virgil whipped their heads toward the scene, and both their jaws hit the floor. They looked back at each other, mouths agape, unable to speak. 

After they pulled away, Logan let out a loud, happy sigh. “Oh my god, I’ve wanted to do that for weeks now.” 

Patton tried to catch his breath. “I’ve wanted to do that since the first time I saw you.” 

Logan couldn’t help but grin like an idiot, and pressed his forehead against Patton’s. “Patton, would you want to--” 

“Yes.” 

The two boys burst into laughter. Logan pulled Patton into a tight embrace, unable to wipe his smile off his face. 

“...wow.” Roman looked to Logan and Patton, then back to Virgil. 

Virgil nodded. “...agreed.” 

-

After boarding the bus, Logan leaned his head onto Virgil’s shoulder. He was still unable to wipe his giddy smile off his face. 

“Took you two long enough.” Virgil chortled and wrapped his arm around his best friend. “Patton has been fawning over you all season. It was absolutely killing me how oblivious you were.” 

Logan covered his mouth with his elbow and squeezed his eyes shut, about to combust from his influx of feelings. “This has to be one of the greatest days ever. We’re both going to state, Patton’s my boyfriend now… literally nothing could make this better than it already is!” 

Virgil pulled out his phone and checked the time. 7:58. “You wanna go get a late dinner at McDonald’s when we get back?” 

Logan let out a happy gasp and his eyes lit up. “That sounds so good right now! Yes, oh my god!” 

Virgil laughed. “Yeah, I’m absolutely starving.” 

-

-FUTURE STATE CHAMPIONS BITCHHH (and patton lolz)-

VIRGIL  
yo me and lo are going to mickey d’s do you hoes wanna come 

ROMAN  
YES i havent eaten all day shsbdbgf

PATTON   
DO I???? 

VIRGIL  
ro if you arent ready when we pick you up consider your ass #dumped /j

LOGAN   
it’d be cruel to break up w my bf the day we get together so you get a free pass this time pat 

PATTON   
LETS GOOOO >w<

-

Neither Virgil nor Logan went home and changed before picking up Roman and Patton, but both felt uncomfortable walking into a McDonald’s with full-on dress suits on. Virgil took off his suit jacket, tie, and collared shirt, leaving only his white undershirt, trying not to show he was freezing his ass off. He quickly texted Roman, asking if he could bring one of his sweatshirts with him, which he obviously agreed. Logan took off his jacket and vest, leaving his shirt and tie, which he didn’t mind wearing. He wore a collared shirt and tie to school almost every day. 

Logan and Virgil picked up Roman first. Roman had changed into sweats and sneakers, which both Virgil and Logan were envying. As Roman got into the car, he threw a hoodie towards the passenger seat where Virgil was sitting. “God, you’re making me shiver just looking at you.” 

“You’re a lifesaver.” Virgil let out a loud sigh of relief as he threw Roman’s sweatshirt on. He inconspicuously buried his face in the front of the hoodie, taking a long whiff. It smelled very faintly of the cologne Roman always wore to tournaments. 

“So…” Roman rested his head on his fist and smiled. “You and Patton!” 

Logan tried to stifle his giddy smile and focus on the road. “I’m so… agh… what’s the word…” 

“Happy?” Roman suggested. 

“Yeah.” Butterflies started to bubble in Logan’s stomach. “Wow, I’m… this is the first time I’ve ever felt this way about… anyone.” 

Roman smiled fondly. “I get it. That’s how I feel about Virgil.” 

Virgil mimicked a barfing noise. “Christ.” He was endeared, but he also couldn’t take the sap coming from the two other idiots in the car. 

Roman gasped, pretending to be offended. “You know you love me.” 

“Yeah, yeah, and what about it?” Virgil turned in his seat and scrunched his nose at his boyfriend. Roman quickly lurched forward and kissed his nose, taking Virgil off guard. “Pfft--” 

“Boys, boys, settle down.” 

“Shut the fuck up, Logan,” Virgil retorted, resulting in a punch in the upper arm. 

-

“So… state! ...oh my god!” Patton grinned as the four of them settled into a McDonald’s booth with a tray of food. “I’m so proud of you guys. You guys are gonna kick ass, I just know it.” 

Virgil smiled. “Thanks, Pat.” His smile slowly melted into a frown. “I’m still pissed you didn’t break. You were way better than all the other guys entered in HI.”

Patton shrugged with a neutral face. “What can you do, ya know?” He reached in the big brown paper bag and pulled his food out. “I’ve still got another year.” 

“I’m glad you aren’t letting it affect you.”

“No use in getting worked up about it, yknow? Learned that lesson that one tournament. Plus, I feel I’d be fa-reaking out right now if I had actually broke and made top 3. Besides, now I have more time to cheer you guys on at state!” Patton beamed. 

“God knows I’ll need that.” Roman stole a nugget from Virgil’s box, eating it before his boyfriend could steal it back, resulting in a slight shove. 

Virgil stole half a handful of Roman’s fries. “It’ll be nice to get out of school early, though.” 

“Tell me about it.” Patton rested his head on his hand. “My classes get progressively worse after lunch.” 

“My classes progressively get worse, period.” Virgil snickered. 

The four burst into laughter. 

“Gotta love high school.” Roman instinctively held up a peace sign. 

The four stayed in the McDonald’s for longer than they should’ve, finally leaving around 10/11. Virgil didn’t realize until after the fact that he never gave Roman his sweatshirt back, but he decided not to tell him. He decided to keep it for the next week as a good luck charm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaagh sorry i havent updated in exactly a month lmfao school has been insane, and so has writers block lmfao but i got a sudden burst of creative energy like i started and finished this in two days   
> so yeah the end of this fic is coming pretty soon, which is bittersweet. ive been working on this baby for almost 8 months now, and its pretty much the staple of what i did all quarantine. ill save the final goodbyes and the tears for the actual last chapter, tho. can't wait to write it and cry woohoo


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the teams are settling in at their hotels for speech state. 
> 
> [DISCLAIMER: this chapter is much more mature than it's predecessors.]  
> cw // mentions of sex, implications, etc.

“Virge, you gotta PROMISE me you and Roman won’t do anything stupid tonight, or tomorrow night, ok?” Logan looked his best friend in the eyes as they settled into their bus seats. 

Virgil furrowed his eyebrows and let out an uncomfortable laugh. “L, what makes you think me and Roman are gonna do anything? Yeah, their school is staying at the same hotel as us, but I doubt I’m even going to see him until the actual state tournament.” 

Logan sighed. “I just… I don’t know.” 

“Logan, I make you leave the room when I’m changing. What makes you think I’d be comfortable doing ANYTHING that isn’t making eye contact with my actual boyfriend?” 

“You’re right, you’re right…” Logan shrugged. “I don’t know why I’m so worried about that.” 

Virgil cocked an eyebrow. A million thoughts swirled in his head, assuming Logan thinks he’s irresponsible, Logan doesn’t trust Roman, whether he owes Roman sex or not, why Logan has suddenly gotten so protective over him, but he tried to shake the thoughts and put his headset in, settling into Logan’s shoulder. 

The drive to state was a few hours, so Logan and Virgil would always try their hardest to knock themselves out within the first few minutes of the drive before the eccentric theater kids started ‘warm-ups’, or rather just screaming stupid rhymes at the top of their lungs while flailing their arms around. 

-

Roman and Patton sat back in their bus seats, catching their breath and wiping their foreheads from just leading warm-ups. 

Roman let out a happy sigh and leaned his head onto Patton’s shoulder. “I will never get tired of that.” 

Patton laughed and placed his hand on Roman’s shoulder. “Me neither.” 

\- 

Logan put his key card up against the hotel door sensor and entered the room, Virgil following behind him. 

Virgil plopped onto one of the two queen sized beds, taking in the smell. Hotel rooms always had a distinct smell to them. He could never explain it thoroughly, but he knew each hotel room had the exact same smell to them regardless of where he was staying. 

Logan made his way to the other bed and placed his luggage on it before lying down on it and letting out a long sigh. 

Virgil sat up, faced Logan, and snorted. “Can’t wait to rearrange Roman’s guts on this bed while you’re in Sanders’ room running your piece.” 

Logan scrunched his face, cringing at the visual. “Jesus christ, Virgil!” He covered his face and started cracking up. 

“You know I’m only teasing…” Virgil snorted. “We all know Roman would--” 

“STOP TALKING,” Logan cut Virgil off before he said anything else. “Dear god,” he said through chuckles. 

“Love youuuu,” Virgil sang. 

“Yeah, whatever.” 

Virgil felt his phone vibrate, and looked down to see a text from Roman. 

“ ro🌹: AYO WHAT ROOM ARE YOU IN WE JUST GOT HERE “ 

The dark-haired boy laughed and texted back his and Logan’s room number.

“ ro🌹: ME N PAT WILL BE THERE IN -2 SECS TOPS OK SEE YOU THEN “

Virgil was bracing for Roman and Patton to be balls of pure energy, judging by Roman’s past two texts. After a few minutes, he heard a knock on the door and quickly went to open it. 

“Hi, love!” Roman grinned and tightly embraced Virgil. “How was the ride here? What’d you do? What warm ups did you guys do?” 

Patton ducked past Roman and Virgil to get to Logan. He nervously giggled and tucked a piece of hair behind his ear. “Hey, you.” 

Logan stood up and embraced Patton, placing a kiss on the top of his head. “Hi.” 

“How was this week? McDonalds feels like forever ago. I feel I haven’t seen you in person in ages.” 

Logan pulled from the embrace and sat back on the bed, Patton following suit. “Stressful.” He chuckled. “Oh, so very stressful. Lots of writing, rewriting, rememorizing, ...dear god, I wouldn’t be surprised if I blank mid-round.” Logan paused before following his statement up with, “And I know I shouldn’t have said that, because now that most definitely will happen.” 

Patton shrugged. “The fates gave you a free pass on that one. Don’t worry.” 

The corner of Logan’s mouth quirked up, endeared by Patton’s reassurance. 

Roman and Virgil, who were still in the doorway, looked back at Logan and Patton and smiled. 

Roman leaned into Virgil. “Do you wanna do something fun before the night gets away from us?” 

Virgil felt a pang of anxiety. “...Depends on what that something is.” 

“I don’t know… just… something.” Roman noticed the fear in Virgil’s eyes. “Oh, no no no… nothing like… what you’re probably thinking. ...Virginity rocks, amirite?” He chuckled and held up a peace sign. 

The weight lifted off Virgil’s chest. He giggled at his boyfriend’s frantic reassurance. “So… what were you thinking?” 

The two left the room and shut the door behind them, Virgil colliding with Mr. Sanders. 

“Sanders!! Holy shit, I’m sorry, man. I wasn’t looking where I was going…” 

Mr. Sanders turned to face Virgil. “Oh, Virgil, you’re fine, don’t w--” He noticed Roman standing behind him. “Oh… oh no.” 

Virgil and Roman looked to each other, then back to Sanders. “W….what..?” Virgil shrank into himself. 

Sanders crossed his arms and laughed. “Nothing… just remarking how you two found each other so quickly.” 

The three stood in knowing, uncomfortable silence for what felt like hours before Roman tried his hardest to cut the tension. 

“Sanders, eh? That’s a pretty dope last name.” 

Virgil threw his hand over his mouth trying to stifle the animalistic howl that was trying to escape his body. He squeezed his eyes shut, and his knees started to buckle as Roman punched him multiple times in the shoulder. 

Sanders tried his absolute hardest not to laugh at the situation and just turned to leave. 

Roman turned to Virgil, wincing. “What the hell was that?” 

Virgil was still cracking up from Roman’s statement. “...Sanders is a pretty cool name, huh, Roman?!” He exploded into another fit of laughter and had to sit on the floor. 

Roman crossed his arms and looked down at Virgil, feigning annoyance. “Oh, just laugh it up. Laugh it up.” 

“I will.” 

The two boys got into an elevator and Roman pressed the lobby button. 

“So…” Virgil trailed off, leaning onto the wall of the elevator. “...do we have a plan of what to do?” 

“Yknow, I’m just now realizing we have no method of transportation besides a fucking bus, and now my plan has become a lot less fun.” 

“Pffft-” Virgil rolled his eyes. “You’re just now realizing that?” 

“Look, I’m not the smartest person there is, and you should know this.” 

“Oh, I do. I do.” 

Roman shoved Virgil’s shoulder. 

The elevator doors opened and the two got out, still no knowledge of what to do. 

“...hotels usually have, like, food somewhere, right?” 

Roman raised an eyebrow, chuckling. “Yeah, hotels… they’ve always got food just, *lying around.*” 

Virgil gaped almost incredulously at Roman’s attempt at sarcasm. “Wow, what a zinger, Roman. You really got me.” 

Roman scoffed. “Why are you just out to get me today? What did I do to deserve this?” 

Virgil laughed and rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure there is some sort of, like, either restaurant or vending machine or SOMETHING around here…” 

“Oh wow, classic Virgil, just avoiding the question.” 

“I am about this close to killing you.” 

-

The two boys excitedly got back into the elevator with their microwave ramen cups they’d scored at the small convenience store at the hotel lobby, absolutely stoked to use the microwave and eat them. 

Roman followed Virgil to his and Logan’s room, and Virgil fumbled in his pocket to get his room key before pulling it out and holding it against the sensor on the doorknob. 

Virgil opened the door, and the two walked in, but promptly stopped when their eyes fell onto the bed. 

Logan was on top of Patton, and the both of them were shirtless, with the sheet (thank god) covering the lower half. 

The key card fell out of Virgil’s hand, and him and Roman just gaped at the scene. 

Logan and Patton quickly pushed themselves off of each other, and Logan frantically tried to explain the situation, as if he could convince someone what was obviously happening, wasn’t happening. 

“I- I swear… it’s not- it’s not what it looks like--” 

“No no… finish what you were doing.” Virgil was unable to believe what was happening. “Text me when you’re done.” 

Not another second passed before him and Roman left the room and shut the door behind them. 

Virgil and Roman stood, just staring at each other, eyes wide open, before both of them burst into an insane fit of laughter. 

Within seconds, both of them were on the floor, wheezing and crying, and gripping onto each other for support. 

“Holy-- !! Holy- ,shit!” Virgil could hardly breathe, let alone speak, due to how hard he was laughing. 

Roman took a deep breath and wiped his eyes, trying to calm himself down. “Love the fact that while we were like, ‘heehee we got ramen! We’re gonna use the microwave teeheeheehee!’ They were--” Before he could finish his joke, he was in hysterics again. “Patton was-- getting his shit ROCKED!” 

Virgil threw his head back and tried his absolute hardest not to yell. “Wait wait wait--” he slapped his hand on his mouth. “We were like, ‘cant wait to put this in the microwave!!’ and Logan was like, ‘cant wait to put this in Patton!’” 

“NOOOO!!” Roman fell over on his side, gripping his stomach. “Eww… oh my god!!” 

The two had a field day for a couple minutes until they both decided to go to Roman’s room to decompress from the events that had just unfolded. 

“...I cannot believe they were… holy shit.” Virgil’s eyes widened and he ran his hands through his hair, the reality of the situation settling in. 

“I know.” Roman rubbed his head. “How do you think the situation escalated so heavily??” 

“That’s what’s getting me… they... started dating a week ago?” 

“Well, we both knew we loved each other after, like, a week.” 

“I guess you’re right…” Virgil shrugged. “I would not have pegged Logan as the kind of guy to… do that… within a week… especially when he’s so young.” 

“Me neither! I mean, all power to him, but... talk about coming out of left field!” 

Virgil rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sure so many other speech people are doing the exact same thing right now.” Anxiety and guilt filled his entire body, wondering if Roman would possibly want to do anything with him. 

Roman laid back onto the pillows. “Oh, yeah… I’m sure a ton of my friends are getting their shit rocked as we speak.” He beckoned for Virgil to lay next to him. 

Virgil settled in next to Roman, not being able to shake his unease. “What do you think about that?” 

“Me? Personally, I don’t care. People can do whatever they want, as long as everyone in question consents and it’s in private.” He wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulders, pulling him closer. “I know you’re asking this to see whether or not I *expect* to do something tonight. And my answer to that is no.” 

Virgil flushed and burrowed his head in Roman’s shoulder. “How could you tell?” 

“Just a feeling.” Roman reached for the remote on the bedside table, turning on the TV that was playing the live action rendition of Beauty and the Beast. 

“The new one sucks, but I love Emma Watson, so..” 

Roman chuckled. “Same.” 

-

Virgil shut the lights off in the bathroom after he was finished brushing his teeth. He settled into his bed, facing away from Logan. “Shut the lamp off when you’re ready for bed, ok?” 

Logan sighed and sat up, holding his arms close to his chest. “Virgil… can we talk?” 

Virgil felt his stomach drop, knowing exactly what Logan wanted to talk about and how unprepared he was to talk about it. He reluctantly sat up and faced Logan. “Yeah, what’s up?” 

“Can I… come over there?” 

“Of course.” Virgil scooted over on his bed and extended his arms out, welcoming Logan over. 

The taller boy trudged over and sat up against the headboard, laying his head on Virgil’s shoulder. 

“Is this about what me and Roman saw earlier, or…” 

“Yeah, yeah. That.” Logan’s voice was full of shame. He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his hands. “I don’t know what we were thinking.” 

“High school’s full of regrets, L. I’ve lost count of all the people at our school who have done stupid things with their partners.” He shrugged. “I mean, Patton’s a sweet guy, so at least your first time was with him, and not some jackass,” he said with a forced laugh, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Yeah… at least it was him.” Logan’s eyes started to sting. “I just… I wish my first time wasn’t when I was a junior in high school.” 

“Who says you have to tell people it was?” 

Logan was taken aback by his friend’s response. “Just… lie?” 

“I’m not saying lie about when it was, but, like, if people ask, you don’t have to tell them.” Virgil shrugged. “No one knows I almost said ‘I love you’ after a week besides you, Roman, and probably Patton. Because, what do outsiders gain from knowing it?” 

“Huh.. I guess you’re right.” Logan relaxed his shoulders, which he hadn’t realized were tensed until seconds before. “God, when did our roles just magically switch? Now *I’m* the flustered one with conflicted feelings and *you’re* the wise one with advice. This isn’t fair.” 

Virgil threw his head back and laughed, not expecting Logan’s remark. “The tables have turned, Foster.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's been so long since i updated!! wow, its been two whole months. i was not doing good these past few months, and my creative juices just started flowing again since, like, mid october, and it feels so good to be writing this fic again. i hope you enjoyed! and i hope you weren't as uncomfortable reading it as i was writing it shshdb


End file.
